Promise Pendant
by ChibiQuatre
Summary: PG only cuz i wanna make sure it's safe for peeping lil eyes ^^ 3x4, and OC (my 1st so PLEEZ r&r!!!) named Hito. don't worry, 3x4 it is, 3x4 it'll stay ^_^ dedicated to Sailor Christmas. it's good, i promise ::cross heart, hope to die (...):: PLEASE R&R E
1. Acquaintances

Promise Pendant  
by ChibiQuatre (3/20/01-4/6/01)  
  
  
Yet another GW disclaimer: well, do you all REALLY want me to write a disclaimer?! We all know that I  
don't own GW (though God KNOWS I wish I did!). The GW boyz r'nt mine, never were, never will b.  
They are owned by their respective creators; Sunrise, There...happy!!! ((oh, and any trouble translating  
the Japanese, I'll b happy to help!))  
  
*A/N: heya Sailor Christmas! ^_^ everyone, meet SC ::smiles and waves cheerfully:: upon request, i've  
granted my pal here a fic that follows her own heart (and mine too ^^)! this has an OC named Hito. and  
it's REALLY important to me that you r&r on this fic cuz i spent forever on it and also it's my first fic that  
has an OC and i want to see how i do. i don't usually like OCs, so i have no idea how to write them! i  
should also warn you that this HAS shounen-ai, and of the most KAWAII kind--yes, it's Trowa/Quatre!  
::applause all around:: yes, how kewt, but knowing there are some of you against that kind of ::ahem::  
relationship, if u don't like, back out now! i'm warning you ::shakes finger:: no lemon, i guess it's a bit  
limey at the end. if yaoi's not ur thing, don't stay. just lotsa fluff & very little 1x2 thrown in for some spice  
^^ k, enough with that, on with the fic!  
  
  
Sailor Christmas: hey, don't i have any say in this??!!  
ChibiQuatre: uhhh...oh, ya i guess......  
Sailor Christmas: k, well, nothing's wrong with your intro, but uh...::deep breath:: I LOVE YOU QUATRE!!!  
ChibiQuatre: ......  
Sailor Christmas: ::smiles sweetly:: i'm done! ^_^  
ChibiQuatre: ::sweatdrops:: oook then...^^*  
((Trowa and Quatre walk in, hand in hand))  
Sailor Christmas: EEP! ::jumps up and down::  
Trowa and Quatre: ... ::staring::  
((Sailor Christmas runs and pushes Trowa over, latching onto Quatre's arm))  
Trowa: -_-@#$%*&  
Quatre: uhhh, Sailor Christmas-sama, uhm, could you...maybe...just get off my arm?  
Sailor Christmas: ::rambles, ignoring Trowa:: i love you sooo much! ::squeezes tighter::  
Quatre: ::does an anime-type pikuu:: ...Trowa?... ::big, blue eyes get teary::  
Sailor Christmas: kawaii! ::squeezes even tighter::  
ChibiQuatre: hey, well, uh---i WAS gonna read you guys this story i found...  
Trowa: YES PLEASE! ::receives stares all around::  
Sailor Christmas: ...you...uh, you......talked?  
Trowa: ::glare:: -_-@#$%*&  
Sailor Christmas: WHAT was that??  
ChibiQuatre: ok!!! WHO wants to hear a story??  
Quatre: ::jumps up:: ME!!! please, let's all hear a story! ::looks pointedly at Sailor Christmas::  
ChibiQuatre: ok, so it's decided; i'll tell a story!  
Sailor Christmas: Quatre....::drooling::  
Quatre: meep! Trowa...hold me!  
Trowa: ^-^  
  


* * *  
  


**CHAPTER ONE: ACQUAINTANCES**  
  
  
  
"Strike one point for Shinigami, zero for OZ!"  
  
Heero sighed through the com-link, annoyment obvious in his voice. "Duo."  
  
"Okay, you guys." A tired but sweet voice from space rang out in the cockpit. "We've won. We should get  
back to the base to refuel, check stats, and rest up."   
  
"Roger," I answered eagerly. It was a unanimous vote, Duo still happily cheering himself on. Heero  
grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, 'And the vain God of Death leads the damned into  
his own, personal hell.' He flew off after the braided boy, and last to leave the battlefield, Wufei said  
nothing, but followed in our wake. As soon as I set a course, I flipped the controls on autopilot and sat  
back in my seat. From here on in, I could enjoy the ride.  
  
It had been a tiring day. First, with the comings of dawn, Heero had received instructions from our  
superiors. Of course, he had been thoughtful enough to bang on our motel-room doors and usher us out  
in our underwear with an 'urgent' mission. As usual, this 'urgent' assignment turned out to be nothing  
more than an ordinary seek-and-destroy attack, something that we had all become perfectionists at. So  
we slacked off.   
  
It seemed routine enough, but when we arrived at the given coordinates, we found ourselves surrounded  
by asteroids and a barrage of space mines. It was in that asteroid field where we were struck with a  
surprise attack from OZ's space fleet. The results were devastating, mostly for their side but a little for us  
too. It wasn't until we led them away from their asteroid field when we finally "cut loose," as Duo had put  
it, and were able to "show them what Gundam pilots are made of."  
  


* * *  


  
"Pow! Wham! And then I jabbed him with my scythe, and it was all over for OZ!"  
  
Heero glared his partner, a manic gleam in his eyes that spelled danger yet was filled with a somewhat  
fascinated interest in Duo's words. And though reserved, he seemed almost as enthusiastic as the  
bright-eyed pilot was.   
  
Quatre poked me in the arm, caught my eye and winked as if to say, "Cute." I just as soon found myself  
staring, fixated on him. In the night air, where the moonlight was powerful enough to outshine the dim,  
dying streetlights, his face glowed with a pleasant sheen. The shadows shifted over all the right places,  
making him seem younger, almost brownie-like.   
  
But the most intriguing part of his face was his eyes. I was captivated by their depth, a deepness I never  
thought possible for one of such youth and innocence. They held my gaze for what seemed like endless  
moments but was really only a single second. However, a second proved too long still, as my mind  
replayed the moment over and over again like a broken record player...  
  
"Trowa!"  
  
I blinked; the record player that was my mind kicked back into gear. "Yeah, Duo?"  
  
"I asked where you thought we should go. You know, to celebrate." He looked at me intently, studying  
me, as if he knew something I didn't.   
  
I sighed. "Wherever."  
  
Quatre piped up. "Let's go somewhere fun. Let's relax." His suggestion raised a cheer from Duo, who  
whole-heartedly supported the blonde despite warning glances from both Heero and Wufei.  Well, if  
that's where he wanted to go, I thought..."Sure, Quatre."  
  
"Eh?" I turned to see Duo staring at me, mouth agape and eyes wide. Had I said that, or merely thought  
it? The other pilots looked at me oddly as well, wondering if my answer had been sarcasm or honest  
truth. Truth be told, I was as befuddled as the others.  
  
Duo jumped and clapped his hands, satisfied at our plans. "Then it's settled. Thank you, Trowa." And  
suddenly, I found myself transfixed by Duo's eyes, much the same way as I had been by Quatre's, but  
this time it was unsettling--like he could read me even though I didn't want him to. That was the main  
difference. I wanted Quatre to read me, and I'm quite sure he could: always had been able to and always  
will. But when Duo did it, if such a thing was possible for him, it was unnerving.   
  
I shifted my feet. Noticing my discomfort, Duo smiled, like he was confident in the future success of  
whatever idea was brewing in his head. Or whoever...Inwardly, I shuddered.  
  
We soon found our way to a diner, which turned out to be Duo's makeshift term for a bar: "Diner,  
nightclub, they're all just different words for a bar!" The place, which was lit with garish orange and blue  
neon lights on the outside, was even worse on the inside. Strobe lights bounced across the tiny  
entertainment stage which was covered with a thin layer of artificial fog. The lights over the actual  
seating area were dimmed, and many of the round tables were surrounded by a fine smoke that could  
only have come from cigarettes.  
  
Quatre coughed. "Duo," he said, pleasant voice a bit husky from smoke, "Could we find someplace a bit  
more quiet?" For indeed, the club was already filling with shady strangers and cheap women. I was  
surprised at how simple it was for five sixteen-year-old boys to gain admittance to this sort of club. The  
noise level rose considerably each passing minute, and a band had approached the stage, preparing  
their equipment and instruments for what promised to be utter discord. Again, I shuddered, this time  
wondering why I had ever spoken aloud.  
  
"Come on, guys! It's not that loud..." Duo's voice trailed off, although he seemed to be still talking. At that  
moment, the band started playing. They apparently needed no introduction, for the audience immediately  
broke into a cacophony of shouts and screams and loud applause. At our table, however, there were only  
grimaces of mild disgust.  
  
After about five minutes more of this indescribable torture, we were relieved to find ourselves in the back  
alley behind Duo's so-called 'diner.' Not surprisingly, the American was the only one to complain about  
leaving. Where Wufei had mocked the unruly band as the worst rockers he had ever heard, Duo had  
joined in the cheering for the band and had somehow even managed to bum a roach from "some hot  
waitress." So it came to no big astonishment that he was disappointed at our reluctance to stay. "Well,"  
Quatre had said, "At least someone had fun."  
  
Now we were standing outside, waiting for Duo to finish his pot, for he had been adamant about keeping  
it. The air was colder; it was wintertime on this colony, and the regulated weather certainly proved it. A  
glance at my watch showed that it was near midnight. God, if only Duo would hurry up...why was he  
smoking weed anyways? Since when did that happen? Jesus, was there anything Duo didn't do??  
  
Suddenly, the employee back door flew open, and a young girl was pushed outside. She was in the  
customary white blouse and red skirt of the waitresses who worked at the bar. The man was in normal  
street clothes, and he looked rather like a customer to me. But instinct told me he was either a manager  
or head waiter, and it was more likely the first. The girl was small and thin compared to the man, who  
was big as a bear and held just as much authority about him. It was an abrupt change in the night; noise  
level rose immediately, and I stared on as the two exchanged shouts and curses. Amidst all the yelling, I  
could just barely pick out what they were saying:  
  
"I didn't do it! Honestly! You think I would--"  
  
"Hito, I'm fed up with your excuses!"  
  
"But I didn't do it on purpose!"  
  
The manager glared at her, mocking her audacity. "You gave the kid some grass! A kid, Hito!! This isn't  
the first time either; how many times to I have to tell you that employees aren't allowed to provide that  
kind of stuff to the guests, much less underage guests? How did you even get that stuff, huh?!"  
  
The waitress shrank back. "I didn't know he was underage. I mean, he got into the club! And he looked at  
least eighteen to me."  
  
The manager stuttered, not having thought before that we had gotten into the club, despite our age. They  
never even checked our IDs. "Well from now on, you won't have to worry about that. I can't put up with  
this anymore. You've made so many mistakes Hito, I can't even remember why we hired you. We  
must've been desperate! Well I can't handle this anymore, Hito, I can't. Your attitude, your behavior, it's  
just...just so...you're fired!" At that, he slammed the door shut, the waitress' pleas falling upon deaf ears.  
  
Duo looked at Quatre sheepishly. "Oh, Shinigami on high! I feel bad now..." He was looking at his  
cigarette guiltily, Heero casting him a contemptuous look. Quatre, on the other hand, was looking at the  
waitress. He felt pity for her, I'm sure, and remorse for what Duo had done.  
  
The girl, I believed her name was Hito, trudged through the alleyway. Her head downcast, she was  
almost upon our silent little group and would have surely run into one of us had she not looked up at that  
moment. Suddenly, recognition reached her eyes, and tears of sorrow became tears of anger. "You!"  
  
Quatre instinctively backed up, and I unconsciously moved towards him in a protective gesture although  
he seemed in no apparent danger. Heero had likewise stepped in front of Duo. Wufei, the only pilot not  
preoccupied with protecting someone, looked at her with an air of arrogance, "Were you addressing us?"  
  
"I was addressing him." She gestured with a bright red, acrylic-nailed finger, indicating Duo. He seemed  
also to recognize her and paled at her tone of voice, "Hey, listen, I can explain!"  
  
Hito exploded into rage. "Explain?! How can you explain? I lost my job: my only means of supporting  
myself. As if I wasn't bad enough off, you go and make me cry! Why were you in there to begin with?  
You should have told me you were underage. Explain that!" She rambled on and on, reproaching Duo  
but not appearing to notice that four more of us were standing there.   
  
Had we been anyone else standing as a gang in a dark alleyway at midnight, she would have been dead.  
  
And just as quickly as her anger came, it left. She gasped as new tears sprang to her eyes, which for the  
first time I noted, were nearly the same color as Quatre's, with a greenish tint. They were strong eyes,  
and quite deep; but there was something sneaky about them, something slippery about this girl. She  
could read people, I realized. Just like Quatre... She took a step back, taking note of each of us for the  
first time. Her eyes passed right over Duo, did not want to see him. They flickered over Heero and Wufei  
without stopping. But when they landed on myself and Quatre, they hovered on us far too long for  
comfort; they passed over us again, this time lingering with an intense engrossment and looking us up  
and down, approving every inch of us from head to toe. Quatre looked exactly how I felt: uneasy.  
  
"Well you didn't have to give me a smoke," Duo muttered. I expected the moody girl to explode again,  
but was surprised when suddenly she broke down in real tears, tears of helplessness and despair. From  
my side, Quatre moved forward and took her by the shoulder.  
  
"Shh," he cooed in a comforting manner. He glanced towards me, looking for support. He knew I could  
not refuse him. In one step I had covered the distance between us but could not bring myself to say  
anything to the shadowy girl. And though I wanted to kick myself, I still felt something odd about the girl.   
  
Quatre looked disappointed, but seemed to understand. "It'll be okay," he said to her.  
  
"How?" she sobbed, and wanted to say more but could not get the words through her short, ragged  
gasps. By this time, her neatly tied hair had fallen in a layered cascade around her shoulders. I noticed  
that apart from her eyes, her hair was also reminiscent of Quatre: fine and golden, the only difference  
being its curliness.   
  
From the corner of my eye, I saw Duo staring at her, a look of repentance now melted over his features.  
"Well," Quatre stopped to think. His pause was more than bearable for Hito, who broke down completely.  
No more words would get out of her mouth. Her situation seemed truly desperate to Quatre, but I didn't  
completely trust the girl yet. I couldn't pinpoint it, but there was something just not right in this scenario.  
  
In an instant, I knew Quatre was thinking the same thing. He continued his thought, unfazed by her  
outburst although the rest of us were quite disturbed and anxious about what the girl would do next. Then  
he put aside whatever it was that had been on his mind. "Hito, is it?" He smiled warmly, exciting only a  
small, forced smile and a nod from her. "Well don't cry, Hito. It'll be alright. Hey, I've got an idea!" His  
smile grew wider; I threw a confused glance at the other three pilots, who seemed just as lost as I was.  
Wufei actually seemed a bit disgusted. I could just imagine the thoughts running through his mind:  
'Weaklings'...'Women, why do they always cry?' And on and on.   
  
"Why don't you come back to the motel with us, and tomorrow morning, we'll talk this all over, okay?"  
  
She blinked. "What?" Her sobs had subsided enough for her to cast an incredulous stare at the blonde.  
He just took things in step and laughed. "Sure! I mean, we've got three rooms between the five of us. I'll  
be happy to share." I opened my mouth, but one glance at Quatre stopped me from saying anything. I  
knew what he wanted to do. In all her despair, Hito had been turned into a fragile little creature,  
incapable of making decisions for herself and too absorbed in her crisis to care. Quatre, being the good  
saint I knew him to be, wanted to offer her a temporary shelter, perhaps even for only a night.  
  
The other guys, however, thought differently. Wufei, who had long ceased the disgusted look in favor for  
a more angry face, whispered something to Heero, who looked rather displeased himself. In contrast,  
Duo had become jumpy. He seemed to want no part of Quatre's plan, for everyone knew that Duo and  
Heero were together and sharing a motel room, just as they knew Quatre and I had been developing a  
romantic relationship.  
  
As if sensing the hostility from the other three pilots, Quatre turned around. A sudden, rare scowl from  
him settled the matter: Hito was coming to the motel with us, and nothing even I could do would stop it.  
Quatre had that determined set to his jaw that I had come to both love and fear. And knowing that neither  
Wufei nor Heero would permit a strange woman in their rooms, I was trapped with the alternative. Hito  
would share motel rooms with me and Quatre.   
  
"Wufei, Duo, Heero, why don't you go on ahead to the motel first?" I asked, actually more of an order  
than a question. Wufei looked at me with an accusing statement in his eyes: "We're Gundam pilots," they  
seemed to say. Otherwise willing to oblige, they left wordlessly, a strange thing to be said for Duo, who  
apparently must have felt the inopportune timing of his blunder. So I was left alone with Quatre and the  
girl.  
  
"Hey!" Hito had composed herself. In a second, she was up on her feet, staring at us in outrage. "What  
do you think you're doing? You want me to go home with you guys?!" She had lost some of the helpless  
quality of earlier and seemed more aggressive now.  
  
"We're not going to hurt you...we're rebels too," Quatre said calmly, as if our position was common  
knowledge. I wondered how he knew she was a rebel; perhaps it was his intuition, or what he called  
'uuchu no kokoro.' She stared through him for a second, seemed unbelieving. Then Quatre cast a forlorn  
glance at me that made me want to hug him then and there, for he felt lost and anything but trusted. It  
always hurt when people didn't believe him. Hito followed his glance to me and quickly looked back at  
him, her expression softening as she took in his tired eyes that still desired to help her. She sighed in  
defeat, "Okay, kid. You got me." I smirked at her naiveté. She was so willing to accept our handouts that  
she hadn't even put up much of a fight. Of course, she could have just been tired.   
  
Quatre looked pretty wiped out himself. There were dark shadows under his eyes, made puffy from the  
all the poisonous smoke in the nightclub. It was almost one-thirty now. "You coming?" he asked, holding  
out his left hand. He didn't seem a bit impatient.  
  
Hito smiled brightly, her composure completely changed, and took the offered hand. I felt a pang of  
jealousy. 'Quatre is mine,' I wanted to shout, but refrained myself from doing so at the moment. It would  
do her no good, and Quatre would despise me for such shallow thoughts. I cleared my head.  
  
The entire way home was filled with Quatre's bright chatter, made with much effort since he was so tired  
already. Hito laughed on the sidelines and occasionally joined in; she seemed a moody girl alright: from  
tears to anger, then doubtful hope and finally happiness. I, on the other hand, was left behind in their  
conversation and only trailed along behind them mutely. When we arrived in the motel, Heero was  
standing outside our door. Knowing him, he probably locked Duo in their room for possessive reasons,  
and Wufei had to be pretty angry with such invitations as well. He was also nowhere to be found,  
probably meditating in his room or something.   
  
Heero cast a glance at the two chattering blondes, Quatre who winked at him before entering our room.  
But he put a hand on my shoulder and restricted me from passing. For a minute, we just stared at each  
other. Finally, he broke the silence. "Trowa. Be careful."  
  
I knew from personal experience that it had taken a lot for Heero to be able to say that to me, or to  
anyone. He never ever warned anyone else, except for Quatre just that once when he had had too much  
to drink. He definitely never spoke words to me that he didn't think necessary.  
  
I only nodded, knowing perfectly the meaning of his words. In the next moment of silence, we stood there  
as friends, not Gundam pilots. We understood each other. He knew what fear I was facing: the fear of  
losing Quatre. Hito was more than just a girl, she was downright attractive. The way she walked and how  
her laughter just overflowed, how could anyone not notice her? I didn't know about Quatre's feelings  
towards her, but I was set against letting her interfere with our relationship.   
  
Heero knew that. He wanted me to be careful about Hito, about Quatre, about myself. I was glad to know  
that Heero would be someone in whom I could confide in. He was trustworthy, but as far as I was  
concerned, Quatre was too. I had no reason to doubt him; in fact, I knew him to be naturally cheerful and  
always wanting to help out a fellow man in need. He'd never hurt a fly, much less a human being. The  
people on the battlefield didn't count; he didn't attack them face to face. He was the only one of us five to  
ever even ask for a peaceful surrender before he struck.  
  
I love Quatre.  
  
I felt Heero's eyes boring into my back as I stepped through the threshold and closed the door. Inside, I  
heard Quatre's bubbly laughter, then silence, and more laughter, this time definitively feminine...Hito. A  
chill bolted through me; I froze and gripped the doorknob tightly, clenching the muscles in my hand and  
my jaw.  
  
"Trowa?"  
  
Quatre's delicate voice beckoned from behind me. I turned around, all muscles relaxed. The blonde was  
standing behind me with a cup of hot coffee held out at arm's length. He looked a bit timid in offering me  
the drink, as if he believed he was doing something wrong. I smiled, trying to comfort him, to which he  
smiled back. "Come into the kitchen with us, Trowa."  
  
I nodded, for I could not often refuse his requests, if ever. Taking the warm mug, I followed him into the  
kitchen. Hito was sitting on the counter, legs crossed and eyes closed, already sipping coffee. She was  
the perfect image of bliss, striking another undesired wisp of anger within me. Not that I wanted her to be  
unhappy. On the contrary, I too believed it awful what Duo had done. Hito was in the right and did not  
deserve such treatment. It was Duo's mistake, not Quatre's, and my little one was not expected to put up  
with it. But he was; and without a complaint, the Arabian had quickly made friends with the girl and  
seemed on his way to making a new start for her. I listened to their conversation:  
  
"So, Hito. Tell me more about yourself."  
  
A giggle, then a thoughtful pause. "Well, I came to this colony when I was about...the same age you are  
right now actually." She received a questioning glance from me but seemed not to notice. "I mean, I am  
older than you by a few years. Not that it matters anyways; such trivialities don't matter at all where it's  
really important..."  
  
'Where it's really important?' Where would that be? I shifted, a bit uncomfortable here.  
  
She continued. "My family is on earth somewhere. Actually, just my father; he works for some mining  
industry, my mother passed on just after I was born. I never knew her, only my dad. And even without  
siblings, he had a hard time earning enough for himself. So I left."  
  
"...I'm so sorr--"  
  
"It's okay. You don't have to apologize. I didn't mind it really. I mean, I wasn't doing any good staying, so  
I figured, what the hell!" She smiled at Quatre, who seemed shocked at the idea of leaving one's family.  
It was quite odd actually, considering that he had disowned himself, and his mother too had died after  
childbirth. In fact, the similarities between Hito's story and Quatre's past were very close. This put me on  
awares. "So tell me," I tried to keep all suspicion from my voice. "What did you do during the war?"  
  
She blinked, as if seeing me for the first time. In all actuality, she had appeared to focus completely on  
Quatre. "I..." she paused, "...Well, it took me a while to find someplace after I left earth. Believe me, it  
hasn't gotten any easier. From colony to colony, I looked for someone to take me in. I just wanted a  
place to call home again, you know?" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Quatre's sympathetic look. He  
closed his eyes, sorrowfully sharing her pain.   
  
Encouraged by Quatre's show of emotion, she boldly went on, louder this time: " Soon after I arrived  
here, I found that job as a waitress. After weeks of living in sidestreets and old warehouses, I finally had  
enough money to pay for my food! So I've been here for about a year and a half, and that warehouse  
doesn't look so bad now. It's kinda decorated and not half as dark as it used to be. It was a lucky break  
for me, actually." There she stopped, blushing, but not before looking more than a little proud of her  
story. I still didn't buy her tricks.  
  
Quatre, shaking himself out of reverie, said, "Again, I'm awfully sorry about that. Duo can be a bit--how  
should I say--rowdy at times. I don't know what got into him." A chuckle. "That Duo...I didn't even know  
he smoked pot."  
  
"Nani," I said, as if it explained everything. I had reverted back to the few Japanese words I knew, as I  
often did when I felt in the presence of good company. My voice rang out abruptly in the kitchen, finally  
being heard tonight. If one didn't mind my saying so, I confess that it was a welcome disturbance in this  
conversation. "Duo is Shinigami, of course."   
  
At that, Quatre smiled and really looked at me for the first time that night. His eyes lingered on mine, and  
I felt myself melting into the twin pools, blue like sapphires.   
  
Immediately, I felt myself slipping into an alternate state of consciousness where Quatre and I were  
together, and were to be this way for eternity. It was how we believed that fate had destined our future,  
and I for one had no complaints. I could have looked at him all night and all day, and it still wouldn't have  
been enough to satisfy me. Quatre was the one thing in the entire universe I knew I would never get  
enough of; and judging by the way he was looking at me, he appeared to be just as transfixed, still as in  
love as I was.  
  
Unbeknownst to us, Hito had been staring at the scene, suddenly silent in thought. I did not actually  
remember her presence until after a minute or two when she cleared her throat. "Okay, guys, what say  
we hit the hay?"  
  


* * *  
  


  
what will happen next? TBC...


	2. Friends

PROMISE PENDANT by ChibiQuatre  
  
**CHAPTER TWO: FRIENDS**  
  
  
  
I yawned and rolled over, bumping into a still-dozing Quatre.  
  
As much as I didn't want to wake him, I had to get the door. Quatre's head was nestled in the  
crook of my neck, making it hard for me to turn around. The sleeve of his flannel pajamas  
had ridden up, and his bare arm was hooked across my waist in a comforting hold.  
Unfortunately, the knocking wasn't going to stop soon, it seemed. Damn you, Heero Yuy...  
  
As gently as I could, I shuffled out of bed, quickly pushing my hair back into place so that it  
shaded just the one eye. By the time I reached our bedroom door, the knocking had stopped.  
Just when I get out of bed... I almost went back to sleep myself, but decided instead to check  
on the door anyways. By the time I had opened our bedroom door, Wufei was standing inside,  
mumbling apologies about the early waking hour to a sleepy and slightly annoyed Hito, who  
had courteously let the Chinese boy in.  
  
He caught sight of me and gladly put the blonde girl aside. Guessing that Quatre was still  
asleep, he whispered something in my ear, just quiet enough for a curious Hito not to hear. I  
nodded and headed back into the bedroom, Wufei leaving in a rush from our motel room.  
  
"What's up?" Hito demanded, but I could only shut the door in her face, hoping she wouldn't  
take it to offense. It was a matter for us pilots, one that demanded immediate action. I thought  
she would understand. After last night, Hito had discovered who we really were, but not  
before we found out she was anti-OZ. "Are you sure about her?" I recalled asking Quatre. He  
had placed my hand on his chest, indicating his heart. "Trust me," he replied. So it came to  
only slight surprise that she promised not to reveal our location. Quatre was so pleased that  
he wanted her to take our bed. I'd sleep on the couch, and he graciously offered to take the  
floor. But that certainly wouldn't do in such a turn of events.  
  
I'd have taken the floor instead.  
  
"Quatre, little one, wake up. Quatre!" I shook my partner awake, taking only slight time to  
admire his eyes and unbearably adorable appearance.  
  
"Tro--wa?" The blonde untangled an arm, sweeping it along the bed in an attempt to locate  
me."  
  
"Right here," I said.   
  
He opened his eyes. "What is it? What time is it?"  
  
"Just a little past five a.m. Listen, Wufei just came. We have to go, Quatre...now."  
  
Taking in my serious tone, the blonde shook himself awake. With one hand, he rubbed the  
sleep from his tired blue eyes, now faded with the early morning hours, its normal brilliance  
temporarily dulled. "New orders?"  
  
Reluctantly, I nodded. "We knew they would come." We all hated to admit it, but it was true;  
this peace that we had lived in, only a few days long, was already such a blessing to us. It  
was about time we received new orders, past time.  
  
Quatre understood my thoughts clearly, as he always did, a blessing for me really because I  
would not have to go into painful detail over our mission. They were always the same, so  
dreadfully futile. And in any case, I was never one for words. The blonde shook his head  
again, this time totally collected, and stumbled out of bed. How I would have loved to stay in  
the motel room with him and sleep until noon, Quatre curled up against me, bathed in warm  
sunlight. But, of course, it was not to be.  
  
Hito was still standing in front of our bedroom door by the time we, fully dressed, came out.  
Quatre had walked out of our room backwards by chance so that he was looking directly into  
my face and could hold onto both my hands, for comfort or security I suppose. Thus I had  
been the first to actually see Hito this morning. Her arms were crossed angrily over her chest,  
although her eyes were sad.  
  
The girl was smarter than she looked. "Leaving so soon?"  
  
Quatre whirled around in surprise, blushing cutely and nodding. He was endearingly open  
about us, me and him, but it always embarrassed him to be caught. "It's not so soon for us,  
you know."  
  
Hito looked more than a little disappointed. She pouted, "And here I wanted to repay you for  
your hospitality. Perhaps breakfast before you go?" Her voice had taken on a hopeful tone,  
and Quatre flinched, knowing he would have to destroy it.  
  
"Sorry, we can't stay. It's kind of urgent, Hito."  
  
Listening to Quatre, I said nothing, instead releasing his hands and making my way to the  
door. I opened it but did not step out; I wanted to wait for my partner.  
  
Quatre was having a difficult time convincing Hito to stay. First of all, there were the clumsy  
formalities that came with being a good host. Quatre just had to say what was customary, to  
explain himself somehow: "Did you sleep well? I'm sorry. No, really, the couch was  
satisfactory right?" "I apologize for you having to wake up so early." "Feel free to indulge  
yourself while we're gone." "...No, I'm afraid we won't be coming back."  
  
"It's alright really," came the almost undetectably morose reply. "I'll be leaving soon as well.  
I've taken so much hospitality, and I've no way of repaying you. But I'll be cheering you guys  
on, that's for sure."  
  
Again, Quatre astonished me with his generosity. "No, I insist Miss Hito," he had called her  
'Miss' all this time, "Please stay in our room. You'll need the time to get back on your feet,  
and I assure you it'll be no problem for us or for the motel. There's about another week or so  
paid up already, so please, enjoy yourself!" After some pleading and careful manipulation,  
Quatre convinced Hito to stay on our behalf. He had paid for all of our rooms in the  
beginning; by far he was the wealthiest among us five, and although Duo had no difficulty  
accepting Quatre's handouts, Heero and Wufei acted a bit uncomfortable. But the blonde was  
uncanny at stratagem, both in battle and out, and before the end of the hour he had  
convinced us all to accept his money and the hotel rooms. 'A gift of friendship,' he had called  
it. 'Hotels are too noticeable, and motels are just as acceptable.'   
  
More than just acceptable, these were high rate motels in which Quatre had put us up for the  
night. Each room opened up to a small living room with a couch and a coffee table. Behind  
that was the meager excuse for a kitchen, that held only a one-burner electric stove and a two  
person breakfast table. And next to that was the one bedroom, equipped with a regular-sized  
bed and makeshift nightstand. It was a dim place and the plaster was peeling off certain spots  
in the wall, but it still ranked better than any ordinary motel. It seemed more like an apartment  
than a motel room, which would have opened right up to a small bedroom with two twin-size  
beds rather than a lobby. In fact, it only seemed that way because it was made from an old,  
abandoned apartment complex.  
  
Though they did not show it, I knew the others had been touched, but I had known of Quatre's  
nature all along. It came to no big surprise to me; I was proud of Quatre's personality. In all  
truth, I lived off it.  
  
"Okay, but only because I love you so much." Hito giggled and leaned in, seemingly wanting  
to place a dry kiss on Quatre's lips, but he quickly turned away, almost flinching at the contact  
of her lips with his cheek. The girl backed away, confused and more than disappointed. He  
blushed profusely, averting his gaze to the floor. I felt a sting in my chest; my heart was  
aching, and I pretended I had not seen anything when I felt Quatre's eyes drilling into me. But  
no, I could trust my eyes. Quatre loved me. This girl was only joking, that was all. And Quatre  
had turned away from her. There were no grounds for my pain.   
  
No grounds whatsoever.  
  
After curt goodbyes, I led Quatre out of the motel and met the others in the lobby. We were  
on our way.  
  


***  


  
Duo and Heero had left the motel first, decidedly taking on the mission as partners. Likewise  
would I want to fight with Quatre, but we waited for Wufei to leave first. "Pleasure meeting  
you two again," he said politely as he walked in the opposite direction that the first two pilots  
had taken.  
  
"We'll meet again, I'm sure of it Wufei," Quatre called out. And then we were alone, just  
Quatre and I. "Well, I guess we should be going too."  
  
I nodded, ever silent, only keeping my eyes on him. He blushed again under the scrutiny of  
my gaze. During one of our more recent one-sided conversations, he had once told me that  
he would never get over how blessed our relationship was. He would always feel the magic in  
the air, corny as that sounded. I knew there was magic.   
  
He himself was magic.  
  
Not another word needed, he called for a taxi and stepped inside, to which I promptly got in  
after him. I would leave my companionship to no debate; it was settled. I was going with him,  
obviously. He smiled sweetly as I sat down next to him. Wonderful...I smiled back. "Military  
Shuttle Landing," I told the cab driver. And we were on our way.  
  
Quatre tipped the driver well when we arrived at the colony's space port. The man had been  
smart enough to ask no questions when I told him our destination, which when one came to  
think of it, was a strange location for two teenage boys to go. He had seen the look in our  
eyes; deep down, the guy was probably a rebel supporter.  
  
At the Landing, Quatre and I snuck around back, where we had parked a cargo carrier. This  
carrier, of course, carried our two Gundams. It was a tight squeeze, but it invoked less  
suspicion that way. And in any case, they fit well enough if they were stacked, one on top of  
the other. Again, two boys, each piloting a rather large carrier, would have been rather  
noticeable, especially when Quatre looked a bit younger than he actually was. But with me in  
the pilot's seat I could easily pass as captain with the blonde as my student or some such  
person. And this is how it worked.  
  
I guess I looked older than we thought. The inspection crew passed right over our carrier,  
noting only that the cargo list said 'spare Mobile Suit parts,' to be transported to the new OZ  
satellite base, X1-62. This was only true in part. We were going to X1-62, but with a different  
purpose in mind. I thanked the maintenance crew for 'checking' our cargo. The guard winked  
in reply.  
  
Sometimes I wondered if everyone knew who we were. After all, colony M99-01 was always  
rumored to have been largely in support of the Alliance and other rebel factions. But whatever  
they knew, I was glad they thought nothing of us.  
  


***  


  
"Cover me, Quatre."  
  
"Roger." In Sandock, the blonde assumed position behind me, watching my back for stray  
suits while I sprayed the battlefield with what ammunition remained in Heavyarms. The few  
living suits tried to retreat, but it was too late for them. The bullets from my Gundam hit their  
weaker suits and destroyed them on impact. Gundams one, OZ zero.  
  
"Another easy win," I said calmly, not a bit disappointed in our victory. Quatre's face appeared  
on my screen, also relieved that the battle was a simple one. Through the battle, Quatre had  
not been able to do much as his suit was unequipped for space battle. Mine was also  
unequipped, but not so that I couldn't use far-range weapons to wipe out the enemy,  
something my Gundam had that Quatre's didn't. "Let's go Quatre."  
  
"Where to now? We can go back to M99-01, or we can move on to--" Quatre was interrupted  
as his vidscreen lit up and jolted sharply. Violent explosions rocked his cockpit, but not mine.  
My stomach churned; either the current enemy was not quite destroyed, or they had  
regrouped with fresh troops and wanted to finish the battle. My Gundam had been spared  
from the first attack wave mostly likely because Sandrock had shielded me from vision and  
fire.   
  
The enemy was relentless. The shots kept coming, one after the other. Quatre gasped, partly  
in shock and partly in pain. The enemy had in fact regrouped, this time with updated Virgos  
armed with laser rifles. Worriedly, I tried to reach him, but my suit lacked maneuverability,  
and in deep space my efforts were hindered. Still firing, the enemy advanced, gaining power  
with every step.  
  
"Trowa!" My partner's tired voice reached my ears, pleading for help. I could barely see his  
face now through the static interference on the video link. Every direct hit shook the fragile  
connection, until finally, after a particularly strong blast, the screen blacked out altogether. I  
flipped the audio link open; thankfully, talking was still an option.  
  
"I'm coming," I told him. I slammed my right hand down on the thruster engines. They  
flickered to life, guiding me quickly to Sandrock, though not as quickly as I'd have liked.  
Sandrock was riddled with chips where the gundanium had fractured off. By the time I pulled  
his suit behind mine, the enemy had circled around back, effectively surrounding us. Seeing  
that they had a damaged suit cheered them, and they continued firing at Quatre.  
  
"Trowa," Quatre began, struggling to get his words out, "My life support systems are fading.  
Move away from me! I'm going to self-detonate, and I don't want you in the way." At this  
point, there was a sob, then nothing.  
  
"Shit! Not yet, please," I muttered under my breath. I silently took stock of what I had left.  
"21% ammunition, 47% head and shoulder vulcans, sufficient fuel at 76%, thrusters at full  
power, close range weapon still operational." Louder, I said, "I'm coming Quatre."  
  
There was no response. One look at the main screen confirmed that Sandrock was in  
actuality doing worse than I was. More chips had appeared in the suit, and the glow in the  
Gundam's 'eyes' had dimmed. Sandrock was slowly shutting down; it had long since lost both  
its heat-sickles, and its only long-range weapons left were its head vulcans, which would fire  
occasionally on a targeted Virgo that came too close. It was his last resort. Communication  
was shot, so I couldn't tell whether or not he was okay. In any case, my audio link was also  
shorting out, and I unconsciously flipped it off. Now there was nothing to be heard but the loud  
explosions and the static on the video link, which I futilely hoped would magically clear up,  
allowing me to see into my beloved's cockpit before it was too late.  
  
Having been around the blonde for so long, I knew that Quatre's nature told him he could not  
self-destruct while I was in the vicinity. Even if his video link had gone out, his intuition had  
always told him when I was near and when I was far. So while I was there, he would have no  
choice but to live. Hang on, Quatre. Don't give up now. My mind desperately dwelled on the  
present, pleading with no one in particular for the life of my little one. I suppose I panicked,  
not being able to see nor hear Quatre and wondering if I ever would again. It was silly of me  
to think that way. Later on, I knew that I had always been sure what the answer would be. But  
at the time I guess I did panic.  
  
An explosion shook the cockpit. I stifled a gasp as my ankle suddenly caught under some  
gauge under my seat. It twisted under me, and an acute pain sprang up my leg; I knew I had  
sprained it. It hurt but was not immobilized. Another explosion rocked me from behind. I was  
pushed forward, the restraining straps cutting into my shoulders. They would leave bruises in  
the morning if nothing else. Yet another explosion, and I was yanked to the side. My right arm  
twisted in an odd angle as I was shoved into the control board. "Damnit." In my rage, I opened  
fire on all tens of Virgos that lay ahead of me, wiping out most of the front-line suits with one  
push of a finger. Unfortunately, the move exhausted my long-range weapons, leaving only my  
backup wrist-blade usable. So I took OZ on in a one man mission, which I dedicated to the  
future...  
  
I heaved a sigh of relief. In ten frenzied minutes, it was all over and done, and Heavyarms  
had taken a considerable amount of damage. After what had taken an eternity to finish, I  
turned back to Sandrock. My dear Quatre...  
  
Communication was out, no miracle there. My hands grew sweaty as I guided the mecha  
through space to Sandrock, which had by far taken more damage between the two of us.  
However, I was surprised at the extent of the damage. When I initiated suit analysis on  
Quatre's mecha, I discovered that he had no weapons, almost no thrust, some fuel, and no  
radio units still functioning. Here and there the circuits were shorting out; they would spark  
occasionally and send a flash of electricity through space. Although it only looked as if it had  
gone through a minor battle, the suit was done for and about as good as a dead piece of  
metal.  
  
But my concern was for the occupant inside.  
  
I had gripped the controls so tightly during the battle, but with the little movement my hands  
could still make, I guided Heavyarms to Sandrock. Once our two cockpits were fairly aligned,  
I put on the oxygen masque to my astrosuit, which I had previously discarded while fighting. It  
was a rather stupid thing to do actually; not only would it have been dangerous had a break  
opened in the hatch, the masque was also a pain during battle. It had flown around the  
cockpit, once slamming against the side of my head and blinding me with luminous spots.  
After that, I had taken it and hurriedly stuffed it in the tiny crevice under my seat, praising  
some unseen god when the masque stayed.   
  
Though I ached all over, I ignored the numbness of joints and climbed out of my seat. The  
cockpit opened and revealed to me an expanse of space that I had hoped I'd never see  
again. The blackness brought back memories of amnesia, countless hours of floating in dark,  
confusion and pain. I shuddered involuntarily; my fears would need to be put aside for  
Quatre.  
  
In my worry, I pushed off towards my partner's cockpit, almost recklessly. There was still a  
rather large distance to cover, and if I had missed, there would be no guide line to bring me  
back on track. Luckily, my accuracy was not influenced by my body or mind; it had become  
purely instinctual.   
  
Once I landed on the belly of Sandrock, I pushed the hatch-release lever. Like a mouth  
opening wide, ready to swallow me whole, the cockpit opened to reveal an unconscious  
Quatre, who had been sensible enough to keep his masque on during the battle. Except for  
the ugly bruise that, even through the masque, I could see developing on one side of his  
forehead, I would have thought he was asleep. So calm; so innocent. As I neared the small  
pilot, he stirred, opening his eyes a bit before shutting them tightly, whimpering in obvious  
agony.  
  
"Quatre!" I made a concerned move towards him.  
  
He opened his eyes again, this time keeping them open, though just barely. "Trowa?" He  
looked confused and dazed for a second before he focused on me.  
"Mission...accomplished....oh, Trowa, it hurts...hurts...just to breathe--"  
  
"Where are you wounded?" I put a hand on the release button for the restraining belt. Quatre  
did not object; in fact, he did not reply at all. "Quatre?"   
  
One quick glance confirmed that the boy had passed out again. I frowned. Quatre.  
  
After I hooked the retrieval lines from Heavyarms to Sandrock, I sealed the hatches of both  
mechas. As much as I would have loved to bring Quatre back personally, there was no space  
in my suit for another human to sit. Besides that, I was sure the blonde could wait just a little  
longer. Although physically weaker than us other pilots, he was mentally strong and perfectly  
capable. I winced as I remembered his angry words, hurt because he was always looked  
down upon, always underestimated: "Don't worry so much Trowa! I can take perfectly good  
care of myself, you know. I'm not a child, so don't treat me like one..." He had seemed fairly  
childish then, pouting so very cutely and making such a big fuss about what seemed to be  
nothing, but it made sense. He was allowed to be young, right? Yes, I decided, he deserved it.  
  
Suddenly, I stopped. Must think...Quatre was hurt, I was slightly injured, so where would we  
go now? I frowned; Heero had never arranged a location for us five to meet after our  
missions. Perhaps he never intended for us to meet again, or maybe he was leaving it up to  
chance: why not? It had happened before. My mind whirled as I tried to think of a safehouse  
for us to rest a while. Now that we had defeated the OZ troops, the coordinates at which we  
were last seen would have been relayed back to OZ headquarters, meaning we could no  
longer afford to stay near this area. That struck out the nearest colonies, including L3, where I  
was from. Also, I could not return to X1-62 where we had docked the HLV mobile suit carrier.  
By now, the OZ soldiers would have the data from this battle, meaning that wherever we  
went, we would have to go only in our mobile suits. We could no longer disguise it through  
aircraft.   
  
It was best to take Quatre to his home colony, L4, where there were medical supplies and  
doctors who knew not to meddle in this affair, but it was rather out of the way, and what the  
blonde needed right now was immediate rest--bed, hot food, and medicine.   
  
Something in my mind clicked as I recalled a kind and cheery girl on that one colony who  
owed Quatre a favor. The idea seemed even better when I bore in mind that Quatre himself  
had earlier suggested returning there after this mission was completed...yes, that would  
work...it would do nicely.  
  
I smirked, seeing the pieces of my escape plan falling into place. OZ wouldn't find us today,  
and if we were lucky, they wouldn't for a while longer. In the meantime, it would give us  
enough time to recuperate and rest up in a safe, secure hideaway.  
  
All I needed now was a little bit of help from some acquaintances.  
  


***  


  
It was an hour past midnight by the time we arrived. Quatre was still out cold, although he had  
awoken once during the drive. "My head hurts," he had moaned before falling into an even  
deeper slumber. I had to rethink the seriousness of that concussion...  
  
I smiled. Yes, this was the perfect location to hide. Besides, I knew someone who would be  
able to help us.  
  
It had never occurred to me that she wouldn't help us. From what I had seen, Quatre had  
made a decent first impression, to say the least. And for all that he'd done for her, she better  
have the decency to return the favor...  
  
"Come on, Quatre. Wake up now," my light efforts to rouse the boy failed, so I thought better  
of it and stopped. If he needed rest, then rest he would get. I just had to carry him, that was  
all.   
  
The lights from the building were dim in these dark hours. Most everyone on the entire colony  
was probably asleep and dreaming by now. While outside, the black surrounded me like  
sesame soup, thick enough to spoon. It surely seemed to me that Quatre and I were the only  
boys in the entire world, one struggling to get the other to safety; the other, of course, was  
caught in the soup.  
  
I opened the door on the passenger side of the vehicle and unfastened the seatbelt. Its  
occupant didn't stir, and I was forced to pick him up. Not that I minded much: I slid my arms  
under him, one at his legs and the other at his back, and lifted gently. He was an easy load to  
carry, thankfully, although I always thought him too small.   
  
Naturally, I wouldn't change him a bit.   
  
The walk to the motel was a short one. With even the dimmest of lights, my acquired skills of  
direction were just as sharp, and I was still able to find my way. While I walked, I ran a list  
through my mind of all the people I would have to thank later. At the top of the list was the  
maintenance crew at the Shuttle Landing. My assumptions had been correct; at heart, it  
appeared the entire crew supported rebel factions. If not for them, I never would have made it  
back onto the colony successfully:  
  
After I worked out my escape plan, I had radioed the Landing. "Colony M99-01, this is  
Gundam 03 and 04. We are preparing an emergency landing procedure." I had looked at  
Sandrock, knowing what its unconscious pilot would have wanted me to do, would have done  
so himself if he had been in my position. And if I had guessed correctly, this would not be a  
mistake. "If you value your lives, evacuate all personnel from the docking zone immediately.  
Leave peacefully, please. We have no intention of hurting anyone." After I ended  
transmission, I put a hand to my mouth. The words had been strange for me to say, as I had  
never really said them before. What is this change coming over me?  
  
Lo and behold, the ground control radioed back after a short pause: "Acknowledged. Gundam  
03, Gundam 04, you're ready to dock."   
  
The situation worked out to my advantage. After a fairly tough but not impossible landing, the  
ground crew rushed to cover our tracks. They took our mobile suits out back, behind the  
Landing, where they artfully disguised them with lush greens and foliage. They did such a  
competent job that I could hardly tell they were ever there, had I not been a pilot myself. To  
add to my gratitude, they offered to fix them for us, free of charge. With their large  
maintenance crew and higher priority for shipping MS parts, they vowed our Gundams would  
be fixed within two and a half days. They were more than happy to comply, I discovered.  
They were, in fact, pro-rebels; not only had they hidden our Gundams, they had also  
promised to resupply our suits. In the meantime, they congratulated me on the victory against  
OZ claiming basically that "Every fall OZ takes is another step closer to peace!"   
  
Quatre was still out and had been so for hours already. They had checked him for further  
injuries in addition to his still-smarting concussion, which they bandaged. I remember Quatre  
saying that it hurt to breathe. That turned out to be a row of slightly broken ribs, which they  
had also bandaged, not without my being there to make sure they were gentle of course. It  
wasn't a trust issue. I trusted them just enough to get along; my intuition had been correct,  
and I was right to be confident. But I didn't want them to hurt Quatre any more than  
necessary.  
  
They even offered to check my wounds, but I lied and told them I had none. "Hey, kid's  
stronger than he looks!" They observed my 'impressive' strength, and I felt even worse about  
deceiving them. But they had done so much already, and I anxiously wanted to get Quatre  
and myself some privacy; until then, I couldn't so much as touch the boy's wounds, which I  
still wanted to check for myself, purely for security's sake. In the meantime, I just had to hide  
my less urgent injuries.  
  
In the end, they lent us a truck, 'courtesy of the rebels' they said. "Look at it as a favor. It's our  
way of saying thanks to the Gundams!" And appreciate their support I did. Even with Quatre's  
slight weight, I could not have walked all the way back to the motel with such a load. The  
truck was all I needed to make it back. I promised to return it one day soon, and if not the  
truck, I would help them in some other way.   
  
So they sent us off and said they would distract OZ if ever they came looking. And here I was,  
holding a sleeping Quatre and standing in front of the motel. I only hoped that Hito was still  
there. I grimaced; with all that we had been through, I would have hoped not to see her again.  
She was rather tempting, and not just to me.  
  
Seeing as I would be barraged with questions if I entered through the lobby, injured as I was  
and holding a boy in even worse condition, I chose the more discreet route and snuck around  
back. Here, being a Gundam pilot was advantageous in the sense that we were all gifted with  
the keen sense of memory; we could remember little details that no one else would even  
bother with, and that made the five of us all the more superior. And relying on said sense, I  
proceeded to the rear of the motel, where my memory had seen a back exit.   
  
That's it, just through the door and up the steps, one at a time, there we go...Quatre was still  
unconscious, making me quite worried about his condition. He was getting heavier in my  
arms, and for the first time I noticed that I was tired. We'd had nothing to eat since dinner last  
night, which consisted of the motel's standard TV dinners and black coffee. I only prayed that  
Hito was still up.  
  
Keep walking, just a little further. I passed the rows of doors to my left and right, and at long  
last I arrived at my destination: 24D. I shifted so that Quatre's head was now resting on my  
shoulder. One arm was free to knock on the whitewashed door. I raised an arm, made shaky  
because of exhaustion...  
  
Quite suddenly, the door swung open. I blinked and in that second of darkness heard a gasp  
of recognition. "Trowa?" Then in a slightly more panicked voice: "Quatre!" I heaved a tired  
sigh. Yes, Hito was still awake.  
  
She dragged us inside and to the couch, where I cautiously placed Quatre. He had a fever  
now, and his body was claimed by occasional shivers. I kneeled down on the carpet so that  
my head was level with his and eyed Hito, whose fear and worry were evident in her large  
eyes. "Hito, get a blanket from the bedroom." She stood there for a second, frozen in shock,  
before realizing that I had spoken. "Oh...right!"   
  
I placed a hand on Quatre forehead, to which he flinched and let out a low moan.  
Immediately I felt the pain as if it had been my own. Even in his dreams he was still in pain. I  
unbuttoned his shirt and vest to find that the bandages on his ribcage had fallen loose during  
the climb upstairs. "Hito, get some bandages as well." I heard the answering voice, muffled  
through the half-shut door.  
  
My breath shook anxiously. I sincerely hoped no harm would come of Quatre, be it damage to  
the brain or even something less inhibiting. As for myself...  
  
I looked at my left hand, which now trembled at the slightest twitch of a muscle. I had pulled  
some tendon or such thing during the battle while I was gripping the controls. They had only  
been sore afterwards, and the right one was okay now. It was the left hand that controlled the  
gatling arm of the Gundam, and it was the left one that pained me. Otherwise, my elbow had  
a giant bruise from when I was slammed to the right, and my right ankle had swelled up to the  
size of a small pear. Luckily, it didn't hurt if I just ignored it. So I did my best and focused my  
strength on Quatre.  
  
What's taking her so long?? I could hear Hito clattering around in the bathroom, caught up in  
her nervousness. Quatre's breathing had slowed now, and it measured at an even pace. Now  
that his respiration had balanced out, it was a good sign that his concussion would be healing  
in no time at all.  
  
That girl is so slow! I had half the mind to get up and get the supplies myself, but I lacked the  
strength. I was abruptly feeling tired, but I wanted to watch Quatre still. In an attempt to  
remedy my situation, I fully sat down on the carpet, folding my arms and resting them on the  
front of the couch where Quatre's head had fallen. Slowly, as if I was trying to stop an  
inevitable act, my head lowered until placed on my arms. My eyesight reduced to a blurry tilt,  
I found myself nodding off in front of the beautiful face, mopped with gold, whose lovely eyes  
had not opened for many an hour. Sweet breath was flowing gently through Quatre's lips,  
parted slightly in sleep.   
  
But before I could reach out and touch the childlike face, a darkness soon enveloped me like a  
curtain had been dropped over my eyes. My eyelids shuttered, and the last thing I remembered  
was the rhythmic heartbeat of my beloved Quatre.  
  


***  


  
what will happen next? TBC...


	3. Lovers

PROMISE PENDANT by ChibiQuatre  
  
**CHAPTER 3: LOVERS**  
  
  
  
The darkness that I remembered to have closed in on me slowly lifted like the curtain it was.  
  
Now I could dimly make out shapes, colors, and a bright light directly above me. Eyes tightly  
shut, I shook my head to clear my sight but, to my surprise, only succeeded in making my  
ears ring. Next to me, I heard soft, chirpy giggles. "Get up, sleepyhead!"  
  
"Quatre?" I mumbled tiredly.  
  
There was a pause, painfully clear and as thick as the sesame soup I had pulled Quatre out of  
earlier. "No, Trowa," the voice answered slowly, rather sadly, "It's Hito."  
  
"Hito?" My eyes flashed open, and I bolted up. After the dancing blots cleared from my vision,  
it took a short moment to reorient myself. On the bed--in the motel bedroom... That was it. My  
forehead felt different, and I made a movement to touch it when a sharp pain flashed through  
my left wrist. I stifled a gasp and moved my right arm to cradle the injured limb, and it was  
then that I discovered my reflexes had slowed. The ache in my stronger arm had faded, but to  
my amazement, so had every other sensation. The arm, though still mobile, was completely  
numb. Seeing as it hurt less than my wrist, however, I raised it to my hairline, only to find that  
something lay between my fingertips and my skin. I looked curiously at Hito. "Bandages?"  
  
She sighed and put a hand on my chest. Immediately I tensed up, but she either didn't notice  
or didn't care. "You have a bump on your head, much like the one Quatre has, but yours isn't  
as bad. I guess it was enough to knock you out though. For someone so thin, you must have  
lost of muscles or something. Man, you're heavier than you look! I had to practically drag you  
across the floor to get you in here." She made reference to my losing consciousness on the  
couch, but I had been focusing on something else. When she mentioned Quatre, I ceased to  
hear the rest of her words, my thoughts only wanting to wonder on my partner.   
  
She must have seen something change in my expression, for her next words caught me  
completely off guard. "Don't worry, Trowa. Your Quatre is fine."  
  
I blinked, my mouth falling open. The flow of blood to my brain stopped, and I could only  
stare.  
  
Hito smiled neutrally, her face conveying no emotion whatsoever. "Your Quatre is resting  
peacefully on the couch, right where you left him. You don't have to get up," she pushed me  
slightly though I did not lie back down. "I changed his bandages and made sure the fever  
went down. He shouldn't be bothered yet. I know he'll be wanting to see you when he wakes  
up."  
  
"How do you know that?" I asked suspiciously, although my mind had been somewhat  
appeased.  
  
She laughed. Her laughter too was deathly lacking in warmth and feeling. "How do you know  
that, he says...don't play with me Trowa. I know." She looked a bit annoyed when I stared at  
her, dumbfounded. "I know how you two feel towards each other. I've seen the looks you guys  
exchange. That night, when Quatre brought me back here and treated me to coffee, you gave  
him one glance and he was over you like a fly on honey. I'll bet you plain forgot that I was  
even there, right?"  
  
I didn't answer, knowing full well that she was one hundred percent correct.  
  
Hito continued. "And even before that, in the alleyway after I was fired," she choked on that  
word, "You followed Quatre like no one I've ever seen. All he had to do was look at you once,  
and you didn't even need to ask him to know what he wanted. And you were willing to go  
along with it, even though your other friends seemed very unhappy about the whole thing.  
They didn't matter, did they?" I didn't answer. "Did they??"  
  
"...No."  
  
She smirked, having gotten confirmation out of me. "And why should they matter? I asked  
myself that when we were walking to the motel. I listened to Quatre talk, and oh did he talk!  
Do you remember that?" I nodded, though I didn't really. All I really remembered was how  
troubled I'd been that Quatre was devoting himself so much to a total, complete stranger.   
  
As if sensing my lie, Hito explained further. "He told me about himself, made me feel  
comfortable being around you guys so I wouldn't be scared anymore. I didn't care about  
anything but talking to him. As we walked, the moon got bigger and bigger in the sky. I  
remember that. I remember thinking that entire time, 'God, I love this boy.' And I did. I still  
do." At my horrified look, she laughed huffily. "But then I realized something else. Something  
that I couldn't compare with, ever. Something that not even Quatre could fight." Then she  
stopped.  
  
I opened my mouth and was about to ask her what that "something" was when suddenly she  
jumped onto the bed with me, wrapped her arms around my waist and kissed me full on the  
mouth.  
  
My brain reacted instantly, and I shoved her away, jumping out of bed in the process.  
Breathing heavily, as if my mind needed the extra oxygen, I retreated as far as I could  
towards the nearest wall and glared at the rude girl. Hito fell backwards but quickly sat back  
up. "What!" I demanded furiously.  
  
She held up a hand, signaling my peace. Something glimmered in her eyes; it was the look of  
a crushed animal, defeated and broken. She tried to smile, but couldn't. The glimmering in  
her eyes had become the start of tears. "I hate being right, don't you?" she asked, direly  
staring up at me from her fallen spot on the bed.  
  
In an instant, I knew what she meant. She had proved her point: Quatre and I were meant to  
be together, and not even someone as vivacious and resplendent as Hito could come  
between us. By kissing me, she was testing my loyalty towards my partner, to which I had  
passed with flying colors and more. And she knew now too that she had no real chance of  
anything more than friendship. This was as far as she would come to knowing me and Quatre.  
  
Now I could see her in a different light. I understood and leveled with her. "Hito, I'm truly  
sorry."   
  
She knew that I was referring to her romantic pain and not my pushing her. Yet throughout all  
her tragedy, she managed a small smile. "It's okay, really. I think I knew deep down from the  
moment I saw him that it was too good to be true. He looks like an angel, you know. Did you  
ever tell him that?"  
  
I shook my head. "I always though he knew though, what I was thinking."  
  
"Just like you know what he's thinking, right? Maybe that's the way it works. Well, you tell him  
all the same. I would have liked to tell him myself, but it would only make things harder for  
me." I nodded, but she determinedly stopped me a second time. She had something else to  
say. "He looks just like he was delivered from heaven, with eyes as blue as the sky, and hair  
as bright as gold. You make sure to tell him, he looks like an angel."   
  
By now, a soft flow of tears trickled freely from her eyes. I felt the odd urge to comfort her.  
"Hito, your eyes, your hair, they're not much different from Quatre's you know. And your  
backgrounds are so similar..."  
  
She shook her head. "No, no they're different. I couldn't ever be that lucky to have Quatre's  
looks. Of course, I am more feminine, but aside from that, Quatre's so unique I would never  
be compared to him...in more ways than one." I nodded, acknowledging her reference to our  
romantic rejection of her. "Quatre's an angel and I'm just a girl. As for our backgrounds, it's  
purely coincidence."   
  
At that, I was left wordless. I had no idea she felt so strongly towards Quatre. It almost rivaled  
my own love. I was no longer angry at her words or actions, merely compassionate for a  
woman with the same cause as mine.  
  
"But, Trowa, you don't have to feel sorry for me. I hate pity. And pity from you would be  
cheap, ironically so. Who would've thought that the one guy I finally thought was absolutely  
perfect for me turned out to be gay?" She laughed bitterly through her tears. "Life always has  
a way of playing with you, doesn't it?"  
  
"Well, if it makes you feel better, I thought you made quite an impression on him."  
  
Although I thought my statement was justified, Hito bristled at my antagonistic tone of voice.  
"How dare you!" I looked at her, dumfounded at what she meant. "How dare you," she hissed  
lower, just as violently. "You're Quatre's romantic partner, and you're telling me that you didn't  
really believe in him? You actually thought that he would leave you for me?"  
  
The blood rushed to my face as I tried to defend myself. "Well you seemed to go for him, and  
what was I to think anyway? You're rather pretty for a woman, if I might say so myself, and  
Quatre never claimed to be gay! He could only be bisexual, for all I know. I always just  
accepted him for who he was, never questioned him, so how was I to know that--"  
  
"Hush, Trowa," Hito said quietly, suddenly mindful of something. "Your voice just got about  
ten decibels louder. Did you forget about Quatre, lying on the couch?" At this point I shut my  
mouth for good, remembering that Quatre was indeed asleep on the couch, and let her do the  
talking. "It wasn't my intention to anger you, I just wanted you to understand. If you really  
believed that you and Quatre are it, el fin, the last act, the real deal, whatever you want to call  
it, then you should have no reason to doubt what you have. I mean, don't let me get in the  
way, please! I'm just a little more than a stranger, and you should know better than to  
question Quatre's loyalty. I've known him hardly more than twenty-four hours, and even I  
know that with Quatre, what you see is what you get."  
  
"I know," I said, my justly ashamed voice barely audible so that Hito had to lean forward on  
the bed to hear. "It's just...Quatre's such a lovable person, and knowing that my personality  
doesn't exactly invite love makes me worry about losing Quatre. I know that he is who he  
appears to be, but that doesn't make me fear that his feelings will change in the future."  
  
"Trowa." Hito had gotten off the bed and now stood in front of me, looking disappointed in me.  
"If you were worried, why didn't you talk to him? That's what you're obligated to do, right?"  
  
"Yeah, but I seem to have a problem with that too." She looked at me accusingly. "I know, I  
know. I'll talk to him as soon as he's better, when the time is right." Abruptly, I stopped. "Hey,  
how come you seem to know so much about this subject? You're lively, fairly amiable, so  
where's your guy?"  
  
Hito's disappointment grew. "Don't try to change the subject. Those compliments will get you  
nowhere, but if you really want to know about me, fine. Fine, okay, I'll tell you if that's what  
you really want to talk about: there was another reason that I left earth. Five years and three  
months ago, and I remember the exact date, it was the fourteenth, I was left at the altar by a  
man who I thought loved me. I'm only nineteen now, and you'd think that marriage wasn't  
permitted at that age, but my family was given privileges. Like you, Trowa, I feel nothing  
wrong in developing such a strong emotional bond at such an age. But I thought I really loved  
him, and I cried and cried, until I thought I couldn't cry anymore. Those tears just kept  
coming. They were endless, like the ocean.   
  
"Anyway, that's it. That was the real reason I left earth. My father could support me if he knew  
my whereabouts, but I left without telling anyone where I would be going. Hell, I didn't even  
know back then where I'd wind up, just wanted to get away. And all these years I've just been  
trying to forget about the earth."  
  
"But why? Why did you completely abandon the earth for space? There are other countries  
you could go, you know."  
  
"No, you don't understand." Despite her efforts, Hito's tears had started again, demonstrating  
her claim on the boundlessness of said droplets. "It was shameful, you see. I was scared and  
repentant for something I could no longer control. To even stay on the same planet would  
have brought on a deep loss of respect for my father, a well-to-do businessman, and I could  
never live with that. So I did what any strong person would do; I left."  
  
"Yes," I answered approvingly. "You are strong, more so than you look."  
  
She laughed somberly and wiped at her face, smudging at the wet marks. "Yeah, you know  
it's in the blood. I'm just part of the fighting Irish. But this isn't about me. You just wanted to  
change the subject, didn't you Trowa?" I smiled a little, happy that she was finally perking up  
and making a mental note that she was at least part Irish. It made sense, with the teal eyes  
and blonde hair. Given her high, distinguished cheekbones and naturally fine eyebrows, I  
could narrow down that she was also part Latin, like myself. She smiled at me and cleared  
her throat. "So, how about we take a look at your Quatre?"  
  
I nodded eagerly and made my way to the door, observing her recurrent emphasis on the  
possessive pronoun and mentally thanking her for giving up her claim on the blonde boy. He  
was rightfully mine, and not merely in the physical sense. Quatre had said once that we  
belonged to each other. How right he was.  
  
Unlike the musty, stale oxygen that had gathered in the bedroom, the air in the rest of the  
motel room was clear and fresh. I swiftly moved over to the couch, where the boy had turned  
on his uninjured side and now lay with his back against the backrest of the couch. Hito was  
right; the bandages were clean and fixed, and I caught the scent of healing ointment in the  
gauze. His fever too had reduced to an almost unnoticeable flush, so that he looked like he  
was blushing in his sleep. A sure sign of recovery was that his breathing was calm and quiet,  
barely distinct even as I kneeled down next to him. His eyelids twitched slightly when I made  
a gentle brush at his bangs, but beyond that there was still no response.   
  
From beside me I sensed a presence and looked up to see Hito standing there. She looked  
between the two of us and said quite mysteriously, "You don't need to question him, Trowa."  
And with that, she bent down in front of my shocked eyes and kissed Quatre passionately, full  
on the lips.  
  
This time, rather than call out in anger, I tried my patience, not an easy task to accomplish  
since I really wanted to slap her then and there for daring to even touch my little one. But my  
mind had taken over my instincts, and it told me to wait for an explanation from Hito, who  
always seemed to explain herself exceptionally well. I was not disappointed, for she said,  
"See? No response whatsoever, even after a kiss like that. Quatre doesn't feel anything for  
me at all. He's all yours, Trowa." She winked. She had to kiss Quatre to prove that to me??  
But rather than let my madness control me, I nodded and counted to ten slowly. By the time  
ten rolled around, I was calm again and saw her point. She's good at letting others know  
what's on her mind...Instead, I thought of something else. "How long exactly was I  
unconscious?"  
  
"Hmm, well, I'd say a little over two an a half hours. Why?"  
  
"Quatre should be waking up soon. He's slept a lot since our mission completion, and at his  
age he'll make a quick recovery."  
  
There was no answer from the talkative girl. "Hito?" She was no longer in the room, had  
disappeared quite suddenly. I ignored her, thinking she'd be back soon, then shook my head  
and continued stroking Quatre's hair. Hito was right, the boy was beautiful in every way  
possible. No one would be able to surpass his looks or his personality. I would have to tell  
Quatre when he woke up...  
  
Upon hearing a shuffling noise at the door, I reluctantly let my hand fall from Quatre's warm  
forehead. Who knows we're here? I quietly made my way for the door, making sure to brace  
myself if it was an intruder, or even worse, a soldier. The numbing ache almost gone, my  
right hand immediately went for my handgun, only to discover that it wasn't there. I cursed  
myself for leaving it in the cockpit. It's times like these when I really hate myself...  
  
Nearing the bend, I pressed up against the wall and peeked my head around, hoping to catch  
a head start on whoever was sneaking around back there.  
  
I let out a sigh. "Hito." It was only the girl. She was sitting on the floor, cross-legged, and in  
front of her was a considerably small suitcase made of brown leather, about the size of a thick  
briefcase. The suitcase was open; a sock dangled from one brim while the other supported  
the cuff of a sleeve. Hito was shifting through it urgently, looking for something in particular.  
  
After more shifting, the result to me appeared to be a very disorderly suitcase, but Hito stood  
up triumphantly, one hand closed tightly over something I could not descry. She shoved her  
hand in front of my face and opened it. "There!" she said.   
  
I backed away a bit until my eyes could focus on the object. It turned out to be a transparent,  
unnaturally smooth blue stone, more like a pendant. A barely visible nylon thread had been  
tied crudely around a silver loophole on the top of the stone. And the stone was oddly shaped,  
rather circular but not perfectly formed.   
  
I looked from the pendant to Hito, who looked very pleased with her discovery. "You like?"  
she asked.  
  
I nodded. "What is it?"  
  
Her smile grew wider. "It's very special," she said mysteriously. "A special type of aquamarine  
that was rumored to have come from a volcano deep under the ocean floor." She winked and  
pointed at the center of the gem. "See that?"  
  
I inspected the stone closer and indeed saw a solid, opaque black oval. "What is it?" I asked  
in wonder.  
  
Proudly, Hito said, "That's a piece of the volcano rock that just happened to break off and get  
caught inside the stone as it was cooling. When the magma cooled around it and became an  
aquamarine, that piece of obsidian was stuck inside, trapped within a clear wall of blue."  
  
"Incredible story," I said.  
  
She only shrugged, as if it didn't matter whether or not I believed her. "I don't think it's a story.  
But that's not what's important about this." She pushed the pendant into my hands and said,  
"Take a closer look, and tell me what it reminds you of."  
  
Bewildered, I could only follow her instructions. The blue of the stone was vaguely  
reminiscent of something, but they were dark, not bright like any other aquamarine I had ever  
seen. In fact, it seemed more like a sapphire than aquamarine. And in the dark blue, almost  
black, I could only barely discern the obsidian in the middle. I shook my head. "I don't know."  
  
Hito, now just as puzzled as I, bent over to stare at the stone. She scrunched up her nose in  
confusion until suddenly she snapped her finger. "That's it! Okay, I got it now." She snatched  
the pendant and held it up to a bulb on the ceiling. "There: now tell me what it looks like."  
  
I looked at the piece of rock between her hands. Now it was obvious to me. Although it had  
been very dark before, the light behind now illuminated the center of the stone so that the  
edges were a cerulean color that faded to teal near the center. And now, the obsidian center  
was clearly distinguishable. The answer to Hito's question, also, was in my grasp.  
  
Awed by this occurrence, I whispered, "It looks like an eye."  
  
Hito joyously clapped her hands together, taking care not to crush the stone. "Not just any  
eye!"  
  
"...Quatre's..."  
  
She subdued her happiness. "Yes, that's what I though of when I first looked into Quatre's  
eyes."  
  
"Only one difference: this is transparent, see-through. Quatre's eyes are different. They've got  
some kind of life behind them. They're intense."  
  
"I know what you mean," she said wistfully. "Do you know where I got this?" I shook my head.  
"My mother, just before she died, gave this pendant to my father. It had been given to her by  
her mother, my grandmother, and has great personal importance to me and my family. In  
fact, my father gave it to me the day before my wedding. When I showed my fiancee, he had  
said, 'It's like a window to the heart: dark and hidden when alone, secrets untold, but clear and  
beautiful when there is light to shine in its path.' And that's how I've always seen this stone."  
  
"It must be incredibly important to you, personally I mean." I still had no idea where Hito was  
leading me.  
  
"Yes, it is. And that's why," she smiled sweetly, opened my hand and gently placed the  
pendant in my hand once more, "I want you to have it."  
  
I was left stunned and automatically said, "Thank you. But why?"  
  
"Trowa, this is my gift to both you and Quatre. Do you remember what I told you to tell Quatre  
someday? About him being incredibly beautiful, like an angel?" I nodded. "When you tell him,  
and I really hope you do soon, give him this pendant. Tell him the story behind it and what it  
once meant to someone. He doesn't ever have to know it came from me. But he has to hear  
it; he'll appreciate it, Trowa. He'll come to see it as a personal gift from his love, and I know it  
will mean a lot to him."  
  
"And you want him to have a piece of yourself, am I right?" I asked, a bit disgusted at her  
motives.  
  
She shook her head. "I don't want him to have a piece of me. He has enough of life and  
enough of you that he doesn't need anything else. I want you to have it first, because you and  
I have a common interest: Quatre. You, of all people, should understand why I'm giving you  
my heirloom. I'm not so selfish as to leave a legacy of myself to Quatre. That's not it at all.  
What I want to do is prove myself to you. And don't say that I don't need to, because even  
though you may or may not feel that way, I do. You rightfully belong with Quatre, and I won't  
interfere with something so wonderful. All I ask is that you remember to be loyal to Quatre, to  
trust him. Don't doubt him, and my job here will have been done.  
  
"And I want Quatre to have it after you, because it will bring you two closer together. I don't  
need to play matchmaker; that time has been passed already, and the both of you are well on  
your way in life. But it will be a reminder for him, this gift from his partner, that you will always  
love Quatre. He will see that there really are people in the universe that understand his  
romantic situation. They understand and will not combat it. But first, Trowa, you have to make  
sure you explain this to him. And you have to remember why I'm telling you this."  
  
"Hito. I..." My mind stopped working all together as I absorbed her speech, word for word. She  
was right, of course, and I would have to thank her after Quatre woke up. But something else  
caught my attention: Hito's suitcase. It hadn't struck notice in me before, but now that I had  
time to think, it was out of place, sitting by the doorway as if its owner was on the way out.  
  
I understood now. "You're leaving?"  
  
Hito answered, "Yes. I was going to leave early this morning and was all packed, but as I was  
just about to step out, well...I opened the door and there you were with Quatre. You guys  
looked in pretty bad condition at the time, and I figured you came back for a reason; either it  
was safer for you here or you just wanted to stay a while until new orders came. Besides, I  
wasn't going anywhere specific yet, so I rethought my departure and decided that you  
probably needed me more tonight."  
  
"But Quatre told you to stay longer. He's right, this room has already been paid for in full. And  
it's not the best, but it's far more comfortable than the streets."  
  
She giggled. "Yeah, I know. But see, I was planning on leaving early and getting refunded  
what Quatre had already paid. That way, I could find a job and sparingly live off of the extra  
money for a while. I figured it was better than staying here the entire time; motels aren't  
cheap either, and that would've used up what I could have spent on food. I don't mind the  
warehouse in the meantime. I was telling the truth when I said it was decorated. I think I've  
even come to adore that place. I had everything planned out, and I can't wait here anymore."  
  
"Well, can't you just stay another day or two? I'm sure Quatre would like to thank you for the  
gift."  
  
"No, I told you already. I don't want Quatre to know it came from me, got it? And as for me  
staying here, a day is enough. All this hospitality is blurring my focus; Quatre can be  
extremely distracting, and hey, I might even get used to this lifestyle." She smiled and  
sniffled, pushing a stray curl of hair back behind her ears. "No, I have to leave now. I've got a  
bus to catch."  
  
I couldn't believe that I wanted her to stay, but I did. It seemed that in one day, she had found  
out just as much about Quatre as I had discovered in half a year. Her perception was  
incredible, and an ally like her was a great advantage. "I'll tell him everything you said, but  
I've got a term of my own." She looked at me in bafflement, but nodded. "You have to return  
to this motel in one week, okay? Remember that, next Friday. Come back to this motel and  
tell the front desk who you are. I want to contact you one last time before we part, alright?"  
  
"Why, but...o-okay," she stammered.   
  
I stared one last time at the stone in my palm. "Are you sure about giving me this?"  
  
"Completely. I've never been more sure of something in my life."  
  
I smiled. "Okay. Well, you've got a bus to catch, right?"  
  
"Right," she said cheerily. She hurriedly stuffed the loose clothes back into her suitcase and  
opened the door, taking one look around before stepping out.  
  
I saw her leaving and was ready to shut the door when suddenly she whirled around and put  
her free arm out, reaching to trace the outline of my cheekbones. "Quatre is an angel, Trowa.  
And you are his protector. There is no bond without complete and utter trust, and I know what  
you have is real. Find the courage in yourself, Trowa. Find the protector in you..."  
  
And then she was gone.  
  


***  


  
what will happen next? TBC...


	4. Gifts

PROMISE PENDANT by ChibiQuatre  
  
**CHAPTER 4: GIFTS**  
  
  
  
After Hito left, I had closed the door, but I hadn't moved yet, still observing the small stone in  
the palm of my hand. It was, as she claimed, an odd rock, special in its creation and  
appearance. I thought of removing the nylon string and replacing it with a silver chain, but  
changed my mind. It looked better this way, more fitting. A silver chain would take one's  
attention off of the stone, and that was the real gift here. I thought of how difficult it must have  
been for Hito to part with this treasure that had been a part of her family for decades. She had  
given it up for Quatre, had only given it to me first because she did not want to hurt my  
feelings. She actually wanted Quatre to have it, but she wanted me to give it to him. Maybe  
she believed he would see more importance if he got it from me, but then she wouldn't have  
known Quatre as well as I thought she did. I knew that he would value it no matter where it  
came from.  
  
I looked up at the door through which Hito had left. It was lucky for us that she had still been  
here. If I had been even a minute late that night, the girl would have checked out already, and  
we would have had to make do without her services. I hated admitting it, but she was rather  
useful. And as an ally who would keep a secret, I knew for sure she could be trusted. And I  
knew also that she would always look out for me and Quatre. I knew she didn't care much for  
the other pilots, although if Duo had been more proper around her, she would probably have  
been attracted to him too. Heero and Wufei, though, they had somehow put her off. She may  
have sensed that they were capable loners, whereas the rest of us couldn't make do for very  
long. I just hoped that she knew I was thankful for her support.   
  
I heard a noise in the living room and stopped, straining my ears towards the area. Again I  
heard it. This time I could tell it was a cough. My mind brightened; Quatre was awake.  
  
I rushed in to find the blonde painfully curled in a ball, trying to stifle his coughs but failing. I  
saw tears when I bent down beside him and pushed his hair back, out of his eyes. He opened  
them, and I was overjoyed to see that Hito had been correct yet another time. When held up  
to the light, the stone did in fact resemble Quatre's eyes, marvelously similar that I had to  
look down one more time at the pendant to confirm it for myself.   
  
"Trowa," he raised his head and called out. Quatre's voice, scratchy and arduous from all the  
coughing, still sounded like a thousand little bells in my ears.   
  
"Hai, little one?" I said. Even in his weakened state, he was still my darling Quatre. He  
lowered his head again and closed his eyes so that perhaps I thought he had fallen asleep yet  
another time. But his breathing was irregular. "How do you feel?"  
  
"I'm okay," he said, and I knew he was lying. Just as I had lied to the maintenance crew at the  
Landing, Quatre didn't want me to fret over him any more than I already had.   
  
"I bet your chest really hurts, huh?"  
  
He bit back the sardonic laughter, for that would have succeeded in only causing more pain.  
"Yeah, it does."  
  
"And your head?" I decided to ask specific questions, since broad generalized ones tended to  
make him avoid the subject.  
  
"I feel like an elephant stampeded me."  
  
"Would you rather rest up then?" I made a move to get up, but Quatre shook his head. "No,"  
he said. "I've slept too much already. What has it been, four, five hours already?"  
  
"Seven and a half, actually."  
  
Quatre stared at the ceiling for a moment before he turned on his good side and faced me.  
"Yeah, I'd say that's time to get up." With some effort, and amazingly no help from me, he  
pushed himself up and swung his legs around so that he was sitting up. He smiled in triumph  
and bent forward, clutching at his chest in pain. "...Ouch," he gasped.  
  
"No, you're not going anywhere." I pushed him against the back of the chair and watched his  
eyes for a response. He defied me and tried to get up, but only managed to jar his ribs. After  
that, he offered no resistance. "Just sit here; you should be hungry by now." He nodded, blue  
eyes lighting up at the thought of me cooking him breakfast; it was a little before six in the  
morning.   
  
"Make me some scrambled eggs, Trowa!" he called out, momentarily forgetting about his  
injuries until he again relapsed into a short fit of coughing.  
  
I got up and headed for the kitchen. My smirk was hidden from the blonde. "Sure, Quatre.  
Whatever you want."  
  
After breakfast, which was a delightful combination of scrambled eggs and buttered toast, I  
was explaining the early morning events to Quatre: after the battle, at the Landing, the truck  
and the kind people who helped us out. It seemed that a nice, home-cooked meal, hot off the  
stove, was all the boy needed. He seemed much better now. His headache was gone, and he  
could even laugh now without coughing. His broken ribs were still painful, of course, and they  
would be for another week or so.   
  
Since room service was not an option at this motel, we had to prepare the food and clean up.  
As we were clearing the table away, Quatre stopped in front of the sink. He washed the  
dishes mechanically, without the usual chatter and jokes that we usually exchanged after  
dinner. I looked to see if he was feeling okay, but he only seemed distant, not in pain. "What  
are you thinking about?" I asked.  
  
He didn't answer. Dropping the dishrag, I walked over to him and passed a hand over his  
eyes. He didn't react at all, so I put a hand on his forehead; maybe he had another fever. This  
time, he blinked, starting at the touch. "Trowa?"  
  
"I asked what you were thinking about."  
  
He looked puzzled. "Hito. What happened to her?"  
  
I was silent as I picked up the dishrag again and started drying plates. "She left."  
  
"Oh." He didn't sound disappointed, only worried. I sneaked a look at him out of the corner of  
my eye and saw that he indeed looked unhappy, but only because she had returned his favor  
without him being able to thank her.  
  
"She said to tell you goodbye," I said consolingly.  
  
"Yeah, but I wanted to thank her personally."  
  
"She knows," I said, now totally convinced that, at her departure, Hito had known we were  
grateful to her. Quatre looked at me, an inquisitive expression on his face.   
  
As I returned the gaze, an idea came into my mind, and I felt that the time was right to  
express it. "Be right back," I muttered as I exited the kitchen. I headed straight for the  
bedroom, where on my nightstand sat the blue stone pendant. I picked it up, warming it in my  
palm before holding it up to the window at the rising sun. It looked so beautiful, but I didn't  
need a rock to remind me of that beauty. Now was the time to give it up.   
  
Quatre was still in the kitchen when I returned. The stone was securely in my right hand, and I  
took his right in my left, minding of my own injured wrist, which didn't actually hurt too badly  
now. He looked at me expectantly, placing his other closed hand at his chest. "Trowa? What  
is it?"  
  
I struggled to remember what Hito had said to me before she left. Finally believing that I had  
the general idea, for words never came easily to me, I opened my Quatre's hand and  
delicately dangled the pendant in front of him. He reached up and took it with both hands, the  
light glinting off of it and making it seem even brighter than before. "It's a pendant!" he said in  
wonder.  
  
I took a deep breath, and thus began the longest improvisation speech I had ever made:   
  
"It's not just any pendant. It's very special, Quatre. It came from a far off place under the sea  
and belonged to someone for almost three generations. It's spent the rest of its life  
underwater, surrounded by a blue that's darker than anything we've ever uncovered, darker  
even than this small piece of aquamarine." I couldn't explain in as much detail as Hito had,  
but the less I thought about eloquence, the more the words just poured from my mouth.  
Encouraged, I continued. "Someone once said of this stone, 'It's like a window to the heart:  
dark and hidden when alone, secrets untold, but clear and beautiful when there is light to  
shine in its path.' That same person saw the importance of this pendant, and passed it on to  
me.  
  
"But I have no use for it. This gift came from a stranger, whom I cared nothing for. And this  
stone," I lifted the pendant by its nylon string up towards the window, "This stone, Quatre,  
reminds me of you, your eyes, everything about you...the real you. People can be fooled into  
the false you, but those who seek to find the real you are soon revealed your identity. None of  
us are who we seem, little one. You know I am not whom I appear to be on first glance. You  
know my secrets, and I know yours. There's nothing to be hidden between us, because we're  
perfect that way. I know you'll always be here."  
  
The blond nodded, cheeks rosy in the sunrise. His eyes were fixed wondrously on the blue  
stone, and I knew I had his full attention. "Quatre, though you'll always be around, I know now  
that I can't take you for granted." Quatre turned around, shadows falling across one side of his  
face, "Oh, Trowa..."  
  
"I've been starting to take you for granted, Quatre, and I've realized that I can't do that. Just  
last night, I feared I would lose you to that girl, Hito." Quatre's eyes flashed with some hurt  
emotion, but it was gone in a second. "It's been hurting me inside, little one, thinking that I just  
expect you to be there and you're there. But while you were unconscious, I really felt lost. I  
had to go through the motions without you by my side, and it made me scared. I tried to do  
what you would have done in such a situation, but of course it wasn't the same. You deserve  
better, and I promise I'll make it that way."  
  
"Trowa," he said quietly. He grasped the stone pendant in one hand and cradled my chin with  
the other. "I don't think you've take me for granted." A half-smile was playing across his face,  
and the sun had risen a bit to illuminated his silhouette in a glowing outline. "I don't think that  
at all. In fact, I think you've mistaken that for being comfortable around me." My eyes  
brightened at the idea. Quatre smiled. "That's it, I'm positive! I know you, and you're not one  
to just accept things the way they are. You make a difference, and your promises truly are  
genuine. But, my dear Trowa, I'm happy with the way things are. I don't want you to change; I  
just want to live out my life by your side. You don't have to alter anything to make me love  
you. I'm already in love with you."  
  
At that, I felt an intense relief in my mind, that I hadn't really taken Quatre for granted. He  
always knew the parts about me that I never even knew myself, and when I thought back on  
it, I felt he was accurate. More and more words formed in my mind, and to concentrate on  
them, I scrutinized the floor tiles, brow furrowing from thought as I dimly noted the neat and  
plain way in which the linoleum grout intersected. "There's something else. 'Quatre', 'little  
one'--these are the given names I am free to call you by. You, on the other hand, know very  
well that I have no name, only this one that I've stolen. It's not mine though I use it, yet you  
accept me anyway. And now, it has come to my attention that you should be called 'angel,'  
simply because you look and act like one. And in all honesty, it is what you are to me, an  
angel."  
  
"Oh," he gasped, "Trowa...you--" But he was unable to go on. I looked up from my  
examination of the floor to see Quatre looking at the pendant, now in his hands. When side  
by side, I could now see that the stone was only a bit like Quatre's eyes, which were full of life  
and much ,much brighter, especially now when tears were threatening to spill forth. From the  
stone, Quatre looked up at me, wet-eyed and bleary. "That's so beautiful, Trowa. You really  
feel that way about me??"  
  
"You know the answer to that, angel."  
  
Quatre smiled warmly and jumped at me, wrapping his arms around my neck. The move  
didn't seem to pain him in the slightest, and I bent down to accommodate him, for he was still  
injured. "I love you, Trowa." He tipped his head forward very invitingly, and I found myself  
incapable of resistance. I closed my eyes and let my senses take over, leaning down so close  
I could feel Quatre's warm breath on my lips. Unable to wait any longer, I dipped the last  
centimeter and claimed the blonde's lips for my own. He was soft and yielding under me, and  
I felt myself getting light-headed from lack of air. It wasn't like I wasn't breathing, because I  
was; it was just because I was lovestruck, that was all.  
  
After a rather unwavering moment and an even stronger kiss, I chuckled, knowing this was  
the response I'd get, but enjoying it nonetheless. "I love you too, Quatre."  
  


***  


  
After sleeping the rest of the day, we were finally ready to return to space.  
  
I had looked up the phone number in the M99-01 Phone Directory and had called the Landing  
during late afternoon. To my relief, they had received an early shipment of MS parts  
yesterday and had been able to finish repairs just after noontime today. "Thanks," I said. "I'll  
bring the truck back, like I promised." The guy on the line had laughed, "Sure, we'll be  
waiting."  
  
"Quatre!" I called. "Are you ready?"  
  
There was a stifled answer from the bedroom which I took to be a sign of agreement.  
Seconds later, Quatre emerged, having put everything in the motel back in its place. "Okay,  
let's go." We rode the elevator downstairs four floors to the lobby. Quatre waved courteously  
at the main receptionist, who looked rather bored.   
  
Before we left, however, I placed a hand on his shoulder and led him back to the front desk.  
"Ay there, 'ow can I help ya'?" the man asked in a wheezy voice that made him seem more  
like a boorish yokel than a motel receptionist.  
  
"I'd like to leave some money here for a woman."  
  
The man stared at me as if I was crazy, his eyes grotesquely bulging out of the emaciated  
sockets as he studied me. Quatre too had turned to gape quizzically. I ignored them both and  
said, "Her name is Hito, and she'll be back here next Friday. Deliver the money to Hito." I no  
longer asked him but demanded that my order was met.  
  
"Ay, now, whet's all this talk o' money? Whet's all this 'bout?" His tone was questionable.  
  
Quatre piped up. "We owe her for a lost bet, and we're just trying to pay it back, that's all."  
  
The man looked from me to him, still dubious about us. I said, "You'll be tipped, of course."  
  
His smile was slow but sure. "O' course," he said. "Jus' lemme write tha' down." He took his  
time scribbling on a motel notepad, then looked up. "An' how much can I say is bein' deliver'd,  
Mr.--"  
  
"Trowa. My name is Trowa." I looked towards Quatre, who carried the wallet between the two  
of us. By now, he had understood my goal of helping Hito get back on her feet. "Uhm," he  
said, "How about four hundred? Is that enough, Trowa?"  
  
"That'll do," I answered, observing the distasteful way the receptionist had goggled when  
Quatre volunteered the amount. "Do you take cash?"  
  
The man quickly recovered, closing his mouth and putting a greedy smirk on instead. "Cash'll  
do nicely," he said. Quatre was pulling out four crisp, one-hundred-dollar bills when I put a  
hand on his arm, gesturing for him to wait. "How do we know you'll get it to her? Can you  
guarantee that she'll get it all?"  
  
Stunned, he put a hand to his chest in mock pain. "Ya' disgrace meh! 'Oo do ya' think I em,' a  
robba'? I run a respe'table bui'ness 'ere, ya' keep thet in mind."  
  
"No offense intended, sir," Quatre said. "We just want to be cautious, that's all."  
  
"Eh, well, t's okay. Jus' don't do 't 'gain, got it?"  
  
I nodded. "Thanks." As we turned to leave, the man yelled, "Hey, what 'bout my tip?"  
  
Quatre laughed, then pulled out a fifty dollar bill. "Sorry, I forgot." He put the bill in the man's  
hand, but the man still looked ready to object. I glared at him, "That's enough." I pulled out  
the handgun that was hidden in my jeans near the hip pocket. As soon as I pointed the  
weapon at the man, he held his hands up in surrender. "You're lucky my partner's in a good  
mood. Just deliver the message, got it? Our friend had better get the money." I switched the  
safety off.  
  
"Okay, okay! I swea' to Gad on high, I'll git ya' frien' her damn money!"  
  
I leered at him. "Good. And tell her that Quatre and Trowa send their love, got it?"  
  
He nodded so fervently that I thought his head was going to nod off his shoulders. "Great.  
Now, Quatre, what say we get out of here?" From beside me, the blonde just looked at me  
skeptically before smiling. "Sure, Trowa."  
  
Knowing that our wishes would be followed, we beat it out of there fast, and jumped in the  
truck that was on loan to us. "I'll have to thank the maintenance men also," Quatre said of the  
crew, apparently thinking the same thing I was. We drove the half hour to the Shuttle  
Landing, Quatre fooling around with the radio and talking to me the entire way. I listened  
wholeheartedly, but also thought of Hito's words. I too felt the power of Quatre's voice, and I  
took special care to memorize its resonance and rich quality. It was the first time I had done  
that, but by the time we arrived, I was exhilarated that I had retained every tone and pitch his  
voice could cast so that I could pick him out of any crowd, large or small.  
  
"Hey, kid! You came after all!" The head of maintenance jogged towards us. Seeing Quatre  
up and around for the first time made him gape. "You Gundam pilots amaze me," he said,  
inspecting the blonde carefully. "Last time I saw you, you were out cold with a concussion!  
How do you feel now?"  
  
Quatre blushed. "My concussion is mostly gone, sir. My ribs still hurt a little, but only  
sometimes."  
  
"Eh, you're a strong lad. You'll heal in no time. Anyway, nice to see you again," he said to me.  
I nodded and asked, "Where are our mobile suits?"  
  
He laughed heartily. "It's in the underground hangar waiting for you, of course. We were  
gonna take it back outside, but I figured you probably wanted it inside and out of chance's  
way, right?"  
  
On the way to the hangar, he told us of what they did. "Your suits are impressive, real sharp.  
The red one wasn't that damaged and basically only needed to be refueled and reloaded. The  
white one, well, that took a little more work." Quatre stiffened at the mention of Sandrock, and  
I remembered that he hadn't actually seen what it had been through after the space battle.  
"We had to reroute some of the circuits in the engines and build onto the shell of the Gundam  
to make up for the chips in the suit. We also had to draw up diagrams of 04's weapons so we  
could make a whole new pair of heat shotels. After that, it was easy to fuel it up. Now they're  
both ready for fighting."  
  
The doors opened and we turned around to see Heavyarms and Sandrock looming up in front  
of us. They looked almost new, except we knew they weren't. "Thanks for helping us," Quatre  
said, not taking his eyes off his suit for more than a second. "We really appreciate us."  
  
"Heh, well it was nothing for us actually. I'd like to thank you, kid. After seeing you like that, all  
hurt after the battle with OZ, it made me awful mad. This was just another repair, son. But  
you two are out on the front line, fighting for the rest of us. We should be the ones thanking  
you guys."  
  
"But still, we appreciate the kindness," I said. "I'm afraid we've been a threat to this place long  
enough, so we'll be leaving now."  
  
"Back to space?" he asked, undaunted by our determination.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Well, I wish you two luck. I know you'll fight to the best of your abilities. And if anyone can  
beat OZ, it's you guys. Take care."  
  
"We will."  
  
"Goodbye!" Quatre waved farewell to the man as we made our way to our respective HLV  
carriers. I bent near his ear and whispered, "Are you sure you're able to pilot this thing so  
soon?"  
  
He nodded. "It doesn't hurt much now, Trowa. I'm sure it's well on it's way of healing, so you  
don't have to worry about me. Thanks anyways, though."  
  
I soon found my way into the cargo carrier that held Heavyarms. My mind switched to  
autopilot as my body routinely followed all the steps in preparing for launch. Through the main  
control pad, I radioed Quatre, who had also settled down in his shuttle. "You okay?"  
  
He smiled. "Of course. You?"  
  
"Ready for take off."  
  
"Roger."  
  
We left that night, at six o' clock, for outer space. I made a note to myself to call The Nexus  
Motel on colony M99-01 next Friday, and check to see if any further developments had  
occurred.  
  
I hoped that Hito remembered my part of the deal. I had followed her orders, quite  
successfully I might add, fulfilled my part of the contract in good faith. Thanks to her, I would  
have something to remember on this colony.  
  
Now the rest was up to her.  
  


***  


  
what will happen next? TBC...


	5. Life

PROMISE PENDANT by ChibiQuatre  
  
**CHAPTER 5: LIFE**  
  
  
  
"Leaving work early today, Hito?"  
  
The blond secretary looked at her black-haired desk partner. "Yeah, I've got something I have  
to take care of. See you tomorrow, Yama?"  
  
He paused, shifting the small reading glasses up from the tip of his nose where they had slid.  
"Actually, I was wondering..."  
  
The girl whose name was Hito stopped in midstep and waited for the young man to continue.  
"Yes, Yama? Did you want to ask me something?" She turned around to face him front on,  
smiling generously in a manner that she never smiled before. For this smile was different; it  
didn't belong to her, but had been borrowed for this one special occasion from a young blonde  
boy she once knew. She had learned it from this boy, learned how to be gentle and feminine  
when necessary but also harsh and cold when provoked. Her new smile could convey every  
emotion she felt so that he with whom she was conversing could also feel her emotions. She  
could now use it as if it was her real smile, as if she had always owned it. And with it, she  
could win so much more than mere friendship.  
  
Now she was smiling down upon the young man who worked at the counter with her. He too  
was young, only one year older than she. By no means was he as young as her past  
acquaintance from whom she had acquired the new smile. He was more than five years older  
than that boy. But he was kind and handsome, dashing in his own way.  
  
Hito felt attracted to him, and believed from the day they met that he felt the same towards  
her. Since then, she had observed his actions until she could say exactly what he was  
thinking at that moment. Her perception had always been strong, and her brief meeting with  
that young acquaintance had sharpened it like a knife. The bond she had with the boy would  
always be one of platonic friendship but would carry over with her into later decades, long  
after she married and had children. He was a special boy, and he knew it. But he already had  
someone special, where she didn't.  
  
However, this new man, Yama, was more than acceptable. Hito would be happy with him,  
and she sensed something, a possibility for the development of something more than just a  
temporary fling.  
  
Yama was now fiddling with his hands, as he often did when he was nervous. "Hito, I...well, I  
know you're always busy and everything. I was just wondering though, just consider me, if  
maybe you could find some time in your schedule to have dinner with me tonight?"  
  
Hito flipped a blonde curl back from her forehead. It was late in the afternoon, and her hair  
was falling loose. She looked at the dark man, considering his offer, before turning back on  
her way out.  
  
Yama believed he had been rejected when the girl turned on her heels. Just as he was about  
to completely give up hope, Hito threw a carefree glance over her shoulder, that same caring  
smile carved onto her face. "Sure. Meet me at Cafe Blanc in two hours."  
  
Yama thought he heard wrong, and looked at her again. She had started walking and was  
almost at the row of rotating glass doors before he worked up his courage again. "Actually, I  
was thinking more in the line of Chattel Bistro."  
  
"Sounds great. I'll be there." And Hito was gone.  
  
Yama sighed in relief, putting down his paperwork and shutting down the mainframe  
computer. He would leave that work for tomorrow. In the meantime, he would close up office,  
being the last one out of the business complex. He had bigger things to think about; he had  
rejoicing to do.  
  
Hito headed to the parking lot, where her small Volkswagen was parked. She had been lucky  
enough to find one for sale. The owner had thought it was completely broken, so she had  
bought it off him for seventy-three dollars. All it really needed was a change of fuel and a new  
spark plug, and the entire investment cost her not more than a hundred when she did it  
herself. With the remaining hundred and fifty dollars from her last paycheck, she had bought  
food and some silver utensils, more sturdy than the plastic she would have otherwise used.  
As for a refrigerator, a friend from her old waitressing job donated one when their family  
bought a new appliance. They only needed one, so the old fridge, which was still in fine  
working order, was sent to Hito.  
  
The car started on the second try, and she was off. A few city blocks later, she found herself  
on the east side of the metropolitan area. The buildings here were more run down, much like  
her warehouse loft located yet further east. Finally, she spotted her target and pulled up to the  
curb.  
  
The place brought back memories, both positive and negative. The Charlatan Motel...Hito  
walked up to the door. Thankfully, it was still open, had not closed reception for the night.   
  
Hito entered, remembering the same creak of the door that she had heard when she left a  
week ago. The scrawny old miser at the front counter was inspecting the guestbooks when  
she stepped up. "Excuse me," she said politely.  
  
"Did'ja want someth'n?"  
  
His accent was heavy and uncultured, but Hito was not deterred in the slightest. "I came here  
to collect something. A man named Trowa told me to come by today."  
  
There was something akin to fear in the back of the man's eyes. "Eh, Trowa did'ja say??"  
  
Hito nodded. The man shook a little, recalling the brown-haired boy's threatening words. He  
would have kept the money for himself had the girl not shown up. Unfortunately for him, she  
had come, and he would only be fifty dollars richer rather than two hundred fifty from the  
blonde boy's pocket.   
  
"Ay, ay, 'ere. Two men by th' name o' Trowa 'n Quatre left ya' this." He withdrew an envelope  
from under the desk and quickly stuffed it in her hands. "They had a mess'ge fer ya'. They  
wanterd you should know tha'..." the man thought for a while, struggling to remember what  
the man had said, not a hard action considering his life had depended on the deliverance of  
said message. "They said tha' they both send thei' love."  
  
Hito, puzzled at this odd gesture, opened the manila envelope. Her eyes widened as she  
caught sight of money, four hundred dollars' worth. This had come from Quatre and Trowa?  
She smiled reminiscently. The two were almost too kind, too generous.  
  
She turned towards the man. "Thanks. If ever they come by, tell them Hito says thanks."  
  
"Ay, 'n sure will miss."  
  
Without another word, the pretty young thing stepped out of the motel, from which she no  
longer was a part of. She had a new life in front of her, and this newfound wealth would finally  
buy her a small, inexpensive apartment she had had her eye on for quite sometime. Thank  
you, Quatre, Trowa...  
  
From now on, the girl named Hito would live a new life. She was a different person now, a  
different woman. The reckless girl had become the tempered woman. And though she would  
never forget her short experience with the young pilot couple whose secrets she would always  
keep, there was a man courting after her now, Yama, and he was well suited for her new  
tastes.   
  
Yes, Hito would live very happily from here on in.  
  


***  


  
Trowa and Quatre landed on nearby colony X1-03 to refuel. They had nothing to worry about.  
This too was a colony known to harbor rebels, and it was to their immense surprise that on  
this they eventually met up with Heero, Duo, and Wufei, who had all coincidentally gathered  
there on a whim.   
  
The five were never together for very long, but they always regrouped later; they were close  
friends, even though one did not acknowledge it, one seemed indifferent to who he fought  
with, two seemed to care intensely for life, and one was always straight faced, appearing  
emotionless but really caring deeply.   
  
The five were special people, as a blonde woman had once claimed. She had no idea how  
right she was. These five boys would eventually change the world, make the people of earth  
and space come to see how wrong they had been. It was odd that only five teenagers out of a  
majority of adult politicians and diplomats would be able to turn the path of history for the  
better. That said something about society.   
  
No matter how advanced, the leaders of space and earth could not settle this dispute between  
each other, whereas the saviors of the world would be five young pilots, unique in themselves  
and much stronger than anyone ever gave them credit for.  
  


***  


  
"Quatre, I want to ask you something."  
  
"Yes, Trowa?"  
  
"...Well, I..."  
  
"Go on, Trowa. You can tell me."  
  
"Quatre, there's something else that I've been thinking of. Something else about that  
pendant."  
  
"Yes, it's lovely Trowa. Thank you for giving it to me. I'll wear it forever! I really love it."  
  
"Good. I'm...I'm glad. It's just that--well--I've been thinking about us."  
  
"...And?"  
  
"And I want the stone, the pendant, to be a promise pendant. A symbol of our affection and  
devotion towards each other."  
  
"...Really, Trowa? You really mean that??"  
  
"Of course I do, little one. You know that. Only if you'll accept it, Quatre."  
  
"Oh, Trowa, I'd love that very much. I've never had one before, and I'm so happy that it's  
coming from you! I'll cherish it always, just as I'll cherish you. It'll be our promise pendant."  
  
"...Promise pendant. We'll be together, Quatre, little one, angel."  
  
"Together forever, Trowa. I promise."  
  
"I love you."  
  
"I love you too."  
  


***  


  
  
~OWARI  
  
  
Sailor Christmas: ::sniffles, tears running down her face:: oh my, that was soo incredibly KAWAII!  
::blows nose::  
ChibiQuatre: ^^* arigatou. it's from my own personal collection!  
Sailor Christmas: read another? o_o  
ChibiQuatre: uh....i don't have anymore for now. i'm a schoolgirl you know, i get busy.  
Sailor Christmas: too busy for Quatre and Trowa? or wait! you don't mean you get busy with them!!!  
::growls::   
ChibiQuatre: ^^;; heh, well, i wish i had more time minna-san, but i've gotta jet!  
Sailor Christmas: hey! you never answered my question!  
((GW tea set falls out of nowhere, landing in front of SC. with it is a large cardboard crate))   
((muffled yells emanate from the box))  
Sailor Christmas: hey, look what i found! ::pulls crowbar from pocket and pries crate open to find  
Quatre and Trowa sitting amidst packing materials, dazed::  
ChibiQuatre: uh...Sailor Christmas, what're you doing?  
Sailor Christmas: ::ignores ChibiQuatre and eyes contents of crate:: hmmm... ::sets up tea set on floor,  
Japanese style:: here, bishounen bishounen. niiiiice bishounen. come to auntie SC!!!  
Quatre: Trowa, she's looking at me kinda funny--  
Trowa: ...she looks hungry to me...  
Sailor Christmas: i AM hungry. know what i feel like eating?  
Quatre & Trowa: -_-* no, what? ::look scared::  
ChibiQuatre: or do we not want to know?  
Sailor Christmas: i think i'll eat a little bit of Quatre and Trowa  
Quatre & Trowa: !!! ::start to panic::  
Sailor Christmas: with a bit of honey on the side! ^-^ mmm mmm delicious!  
Quatre & Trowa: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ::scream and run around in crazed fever::  
((SC chases Quatre & Trowa off stage...shrieks can be heard))  
ChibiQuatre: oh my! down SC!! down girl!!! ::runs after SC with leash:: leave the poor bishounen  
alone!!!  
  
  
you like? i hope so...well, i've gotta go to bed right now. sorry it took so long, and towards the  
end it kinda got a bit towards the lime-ish side! ^^* gomen nasai, but i hope you didn't mind  
(hehe). anyways, this is the first time i've written anything with an OC in it, and definitely the  
first time i included that funny little dialogue in here...that WAS funny, wasn't it? O_O oh my,  
i'm starting to doubt myself now...eep. not good. help me get my confidence back! r&r is  
always appreciated, people!!!  
  
oyasumi ^_^  
  
ChibiQuatre @ pandahgirl@aol.com


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